Soul in the Dream
by tiguidi123
Summary: (New summary, last one kinda sucked) Hitomi was a young man training himself to become part of the Empire Army so he could repay a personal debt. One day, he met a certain brown-haired teen travelling to the Capital to make it big. Befriending him, Hitomi was dragged into joining a group of assassins when he saw the Capital's true darkness. Based on the manga.
1. Prologue

**Hello everyone! :D I felt like writing an Akame Ga Kill fanfiction, so here I am ^^ I don't really have anything to say for now, but please be gentle with me, I haven't written anything like that for about to years ^^' This chapter here is mainly to introduce my OC Hitomi. Soooo enjoy and please review!**

* * *

 **Soul in the Dream**

 **CHARACTER PROFILE:**  
 **Name: Hitomi**  
 **Age: Teens**  
 **Gender: Male**  
 **Height: 176cm (~5'7'')**  
 **Hair: Chin-lenght, Blonde**  
 **Eyes: Blue**  
 **Blood Type: A+**  
 **Clothes Description: white t-shirt, dark grey unzipped hoodie (sometimes wraped around his waist), blue jeans and black shoes. Looks expansive...**

* * *

 **Prologue**

(Normal POV)

Hitomi walked in the streets with his bags full of food. His parents had to go out of the Capital, so he would be alone for some time. 'It's for work', they had said. He frowned at the thought. His family's income was a little below average, yet his parents paid him good education, clothes, everything a child needed. Twice per year, they had to go to the south for unknown reasons, but they came back with enough money to last, so he didn't complain. In return, he swore to himself that he would join the military and give a good part of the money to his parents.

 _*Flashback*_

 _It was four years ago. Hitomi was at his house, studying while his mother cooked dinner at the other side of the room._

 _"Mom?", Hitomi suddenly asked. "Can I ask you something?"_

 _"What is it, sweetie?", she said._

 _"Why just me?" His mother looked at him, confused._

 _"What do you mean, just you?" He frowned._

 _"Why do you spend all the money you make with dad on me? Don't you also need some?" The answer he received was almost immediate._

 _"That's because we love you, Hitomi. Our top priority is you having a good life."_

 _*End Flashback*_

He shook his thoughts away. He did enjoy being spoiled, but the fact that it took nearly all his family's money made him frown. "Ugh, no point in planning that far ahead", he muttered. "Before joining, I'll make sure I'm at least ready!" Each day, he trained his body and swordsmanship, hoping that his skills would be enough to be useful in the military. Hitomi's parents would be gone for a month, so he had to make sure he had all the things he needed to last long. His house was far from the market, so he didn't want to make useless trips to buy one or two ingredients for his dinner. After half an hour, he came across the military barracks, the next step towards his goal. He smiled in anticipation and started to walk away towards his house. He still needed another twenty minutes walk... But suddenly, the sound of a door opening came from the barracks. Surprised, Hitomi looked at the door, and saw a teenage boy getting thrown out by another man.

"WHAT, YOU CAN AT LEAST TEST ME!", the teen yelled, furious for being thrown out.

"Stop messin' around!", the other man at the doorfront said. "You need to win a raffle even for becoming a soldier! Applicants are flooding in because of this recession! We can't be looking at each and every one!"

 _'Damn, this guy seems mad...'_ , Hitomi thought. He then looked at the brown-haired teen. _'I wonder what he did...'_

"Wha... Really?", asked the teen. Hitomi resisted the urge to facepalm at that question, but couldn't hold a smile.

"IF YOU GOT IT, SCRAM, FUCKING BRAT!", finished the older man, slamming the door shut.

"Man, what a rager...", Hitomi said, approching the teen. "You ok?", he asked, helping him up.

"Yeah, thanks...", he said, rubbing his head. "But how am I gonna make money if I get thrown out right away!?" Hitomi sweatdropped as his new friend continued his rant.

"Are you finished?", he asked after the brown-haired stopped talking.

"Yeah... " He then smiled and extanded his hand. "My name's Tatsumi, by the way." He had brown, medium-lenghted hair and green eyes. He wore a white, high collar jacket over a tan sweater vest along with black pants and combat boots.

"Nice to meet you, I'm Hitomi.", he shook Tatsumi's hand. He then smiled deviously. "Just how did you get kicked out of there?", he said, glancing at the military barracks. "I heard it was pretty easy to get in."

"Apparently not..." Tatsumi muttered. "But it's okay, my goal wasn't really the military. Honestly, I was more after the pay." He smiled sheepishly after saying that.

"Heh, I was actually going after that too!", Hitomi grinned. "I was going to join the military myself but after seeing you get kicked out and that guy saying there's too many people... *sigh* Guess I'll have to find another way..."

"Hey there~", a feminine voice interrupted Hitomi's. He and Tatsumi turned towards the voice and saw a young, beautiful woman as its source. She had short blonde hair with two long bangs at each side of her face and golden eyes. She wore a black tube top, boots, pants and a scarf but it wasn't what grabbed the attention of both boys. The blonde woman had... noticeable assets.

'Big...', They thought simultaneously.

* * *

 **So... yeah, that's it for now ^^ And by the way, I know 'Hitomi' is a female name but I think it just feels good on him so I kept it like that xD Anyway, as I said, please review if you want and prepare yourselves for more chapters in the future! Peace-**


	2. Chapter 1

**Hello everyone :) This chapter too is very short, so I figured I'd post it now. The chapters in the future are longer, so don't worry ^^ I don't really have anything more to say, so enjoy and please review :)**

* * *

 **Soul in the Dream**

 **CHAPTER 1**

(Hitomi's POV)

"You seem troubled, young lads.", said the blonde before us. "Should this onee-san here lend you a hand?" I shook my head to get rid of the 'big' thoughts and focused on what she had to say.

"Lad,", she said, looking at Tatsumi. "you must be one of those coming to the Capital from the country seeking adventure, right?"

"How do you know!?", Tatsumi asked, shocked.

"If you live in the capital long enough, you could tell outsiders apart in a heartbeat.", she replied. I raised my hand.

"Yeah, she's right about that.", I grinned. The girl then looked at me, like if she was inspecting me. "Hey, what's a rich guy like you doing in a place like this. I figured that most people with money tend to avoid poor places like here." Her question wasn't asked with any agressivity, just curiosity.

"Oh, I'm not rich...", I replied, gazing away. "I just happened to like these and saved for them.", I smiled, gesturing at my clothes. Yeah, lying to trivial things like that is kinda useless, but I'm not really interested in everyone knowing I'm spoiled against my will by my parents.

She seemed to buy it and nodded. "I see. In any case, I know a quick way to get commissioned in the military. That's what you two want, right?" I perked up when she mentioned that. Did she really know how?

"Seriously!?", exclaimed Tatsumi, surprised.

"You wanna know?", asked the blonde girl. Me and Tatsumi nodded. She continued: "Then, treat onee-san to a meal~", she said, giving us a bright smile.

* * *

(Normal POV)

Tatsumi, Hitomi and 'Onee-san' found themselves in a nearby tavern. The boys were silently sipping their drinks while they watched their female companion swallow glasses and glasses of sake.

"Pfahhh", she sighed. "Yeah~ Alcohol in the daytime hits the spot!"

"You're drinking without too much regard for us.", Tatsumi noticed, a little irritated.

"Just drink, lad!", she replied, the alcohol causing her to blush. "Let's have fun!" Tatsumi, however, slowly started to lose his patience.

"Just tell us how can we get commissioned." Hitomi was silent during the exchange, waiting to see what would happen.

"Ohh, that's basically... connections and cash.", said 'Onee-san'.

"Cash...?", asked Tatsumi, skeptical.

"I've got a contact in the army.", the blonde girl continued. "If you show him some money, right away!"

"Money, huh...", muttered Hitomi. "Guess we need it for everything..." His thoughts were interrupted by the sound of coins being dropped. He looked on the table and his eyes went wide. In Tatsumi's hand was a huge sack containing coins.

"Holy hell!", Hitomi exclaimed. "That's a lot!"

"Wow~ Definitely enough!", nodded 'Onee-san'. "You've got quite a bit!"

"How DID you get this many...?", Hitome asked, dumbfounded.

"I was hunting Risk Species and getting rewards on the way.", Tatsumi replied.

"Hmmm", 'Onee-san' pondered. "So you're strong..." She then took Tatsumi's bag and let it hang on her shoulder. "This'll get you to captain without delay."

"Yeah! I'll leave it to you!", Tatsumi said, pumped and excited to join the army so easily.

"Well, I think it'll be okay with about 4/5 of this." She turned her glance toward Hitomi. "You wanna go in the military as well, right?"

"Y-Yeah, but I'll be okay", he said, raising his arms. "I think I'm going to join using the classical method, thank you."

"All right, then!", she smiled. "I think you'll learn a lot from your meeting with me, young lad! M'kay, I'll go settle this so wait for me here~"

"Okay~", Tatsumi obediently waved her goodbye as she closed the tavern's door. "I see... So connections are important...", he mumbled.

The two boys waited for a few minutes. "I'll go put my grocerie bags at home and I'll come back, okay?", Hitomi suddenly said as he got up. "Tired of dragging these around..."

"O-Oh, yeah, sure", Tatsumi nodded.

* * *

(Hitomi's POV)

I exited the tavern in direction of my house to get rid of these bags for now. As I approached my residence, a realisation popped into my head. A stupid one at that.

"Wait... Isn't it illegal or something to simply pay to go up in rank in the army?", I mumbled. "... Tatsumi got scammed..." I then burst off laughing like an idiot.


	3. Chapter 2

**Hello everyone! :D Slightly longer chapter this time ^^' The story will advance properly soon, so don't worry :)**

* * *

 **Soul in the Dream**

 **CHAPTER 2**

(Hitomi's POV)

I left the house much, much later than I initially wanted. After storing my newly bought food, I made a quick meal and went training to pass time. But when I had finished, the sun was a lot lower than it was supposed to be, in my head anyway. But then I realised that I trained for all day instead of just for an hour. Slightly panicking, I rushed toward the tavern we were in, my sword in tow.

"It's good to go check out I guess...", I mumbled, opening the door. "but I don't think he's THAT dum- WHAT THE HECK ARE YOU STILL DOING HERE!?", Yeah... he was still waiting for 'Onee-san'...

"Oh, hey Hitomi...", he greeted me, half asleep. "You sure took your time..."

"At least I came back", I deadpanned. I was going to add something, but the bartender, who was cleaning a nearby table, beat me to it.

"Sir, we're closing up soon.", he told us.

"Oh, I'm waiting for someone.", Tatsumi replied. I sighed. The bartender seemed to share my thought.

"I was watching, but, you got your money taken from you.", he said.

"HUH!?", Tatsumi yelled, shocked. He finally realised, huh? At least we could say that because of this, I got to meet him again, him being my only friend nearby...

"To think you'd go around believing people in the Capital as it is now.", the bartender continued, crossing his arms while looking in disbelief at Tatsumi.

"TH... THAT'S FRAUD! I'LL SUE-"

"Not happening.", the bartender interrupted. "In fact, it's your own fault for getting fooled by a story like that."

(Normal POV)

Tatsumi and Hitomi were walking in the night streets of the Capital. Tatsumi was still fuming over what the blonde beauty did to him while Hitomi smiled at his misfortune.

"God dammit... I'm completely broke after paying for the food.", he said, shaking his now empty purse.

"No offense, Tatsumi, but it's kinda your fault, you know...", Hitomi said, putting his arms behind his head.

"THOSE BOOBS... I MEAN, WOMAAAAN!", Tatsumi apparently didn't hear Hitomi. "THIS IS WHAT SHE MEANT BY LEARN!?" He continued, imagining 'Onee-san''s laughing face. He then stood low, facing the ground. "There's no one who'd lie like that in my countryside. Shit."

"Yeah, it must be hard to believe, but the Capital is like that...", Hitomi said. "Wish I could do something about it... At least you've learned your lesson, right?", he added, still smiling.

"Yeah, I guess..."

"Oh?", they heard a voice say. The two boys turned around and saw two other boys that looked slightly older than them. "There's a country bumpkin and a rich boy walking around with swords.", said the smaller of the two.

"Why does everybody think I'm rich...", Hitomi sighed.

"Give them to us.", demanded the bigger thug with a smirk. "Of course, that's an order, hehehe!" Hitomi and Tatsumi exchanged a look.

"I'll take the big one.", sighed Tatsumi, drawing his sword. Hitomi did the same.

"The small fry's mine, then!", he smirked. The small thug then burst off laughing.

"PFAAHAHAHA! As if brats like you could beat u-"

* * *

"What's wrong with them?", Tatsumi said, walking away from the two unconscious thugs. "Each and every one of them in this city..."

"I feel insulted...", Hitomi pouted.

"Sorry...", apologized Tatsumi. He looked towards the Emperor's palace. "It's just that I wonder how those guys are doing..."

"Yeah, I guess it must be hard for them", Hitomi agreed. He then stretched out his arm, awaiting a fist bump from his brown haired friend. "You're a pretty good fighter, though. I must admit, you got skill!" Tatsumi smiled and bumped his fist against the blonde.

"Thanks. You get pretty... interesting when you fight, too."

"Hehehe, yeah I get carried away sometimes... sorry!", Hitomi laughed.

"Well... whatever.", Tatsumi sighed. He leaned against the wall, sitting. "I'm sleeping outside today. Thanks for the help today, Hitomi. I'm glad there's at least someone I can trust here." The blonde smiled.

"Heh, glad to know that. However...", he leaned against the wall beside Tatsumi. "I'm not leaving you here alone. Might as well tag along, right?" Tatsumi looked at him, confused.

"Don't you have a house, Hitomi?", he asked, making his friend laugh.

"Hehe, I'll be alone for a whole month", the blonde explained. "So I can sleep anywhere I want." Tatsumi sweatdropped at his new friend's determination to stay beside him, despite knowing him for only one day.

"Alright, if you say s-"

"STOP!" Tatsumi got interrupted by a young sounding voice coming from a passing carriage. The horses pulling it came to a stop at the young person's order. "Does these people not have a place to stay...? How unfortunate..." It was a young girl, blonde, unmistakably from a rich family.

"Again, my Lady!?", a guard escorting her exclaimed.

"I can't help it! That's my nature.", replied the young girl, getting off the carriage with her guard's help. The small girl then advanced towards the two boys, who were watching with curiosity. "Did you two come from the country?", she sweetly asked the teens.

"Huh...? Yeah, I do...", said Tatsumi, unsure on how to respond.

"If you don't have a place to go, do you want to come to my house?", the small lady happily asked the boys. She was met with a blank face from Tatsumi, who now had trouble trusting Capital folks, with the exception of Hitomi.

"We don't have any money.", he finally stated.

"You wouldn't be sleeping here if you did.", the blonde girl said matter-of-factly. Tatsumi heard Hitomi chuckle under his breath, but ignored him.

"Lady Aria can't leave people like you alone!", said one of the guards.

"You should just accept her goodwill.", said another one, on a neutral tone.

"What do you want to do?", the young girl, Lady Aria asked again. Tatsumi glanced at Hitomi, hoping he would help, but he just received a blank face saying 'Decide, I'll follow'. Sighing, Tatsumi gave his answer:

"... Well, it's better than sleeping outside..."

"Then it's settled~", happily exclaimed Aria. "Get into the carriage, you two.", she said, walking back toward said carriage.

"I don't know if we should trust her...", Tatsumi said to Hitomi.

"Don't worry, buddy", the blonde said with a smile. "It's not like if they wanted to kill us or something, right?"

* * *

 **What will happen to Tatsumi and Hitomi? Will Lady Aria treat them well (is if you don't already know xD)? And what did Tatsumi mean when he said Hitomi became 'interesting' when he fought? You'll see next time, on Drag... Yeah I'll just stop, it has been used too much already... Anyways, I know the story isn't advancing much for now, but if you have any questions about anything, please ask ^^ Until then, bo-bye!**


	4. Chapter 3

**Last time, Lady Aria brought Hitomi and Tatsumi home... What will happen!? Pretty good recap, huh?**

 **...**

 **Anyway, enjoy ^^'**

* * *

 **Soul in the Dream**

 **CHAPTER 3**

(Hitomi's POV)

Tatsumi and I found ourselves inside Lady Aria's mansion. From the exterior, it looked pretty big, but now that we're inside, we can see the real beauty of a rich family house. The mansion was lit by many chandeliers hanging on the ceiling and decorative objects were everywhere, such as a stuffed deer head on a wall and an expansive-looking vase on a small table.

"Whoaaa...!?", Tatsumi and I said at the same time, impressed by the furniture. Lady Aria giggled at our expression and directed us to what looked like the living room, where two other people were seated.

"Ahh, Aria brought someone in again.", noticed the man seated at our right. He had nicely combed grey hair and looked kind and friendly.

"What a habit.", agreed the blonde woman next to him. "I wonder how many it's been now.", she pondered. I smiled at their hospitality. Kind people like these folks were very rare in a place like the Capital. Most wealthy families prefer to keep their money to themselves while laughing and mocking the other, poor families...

"Thank you very much for bringing us in!", said Tatsumi, bowing in gratitude. I followed his example.

"Yes, thank you very much." Lady Aria looked at our bowed forms and giggled.

"It's okay, it's okay~ Make yourselves at home."

"If we help people out, the happiness will eventually come back to us, right?", the blonde woman joked while gently laughing.

"Mom! That's not the reason I'm doing it for!"

"Joking, joking~" I smiled at Lady Aria and her mother's exchange. They were a kind, loving and close family, something that a lot of people desired most.

"Excuse me...", said Tatsumi, raising his eyes. "There's also something I'd like to ask..."

* * *

Tatsumi explained to everyone that his goal was to join the army, in hope of sending the money he would have earned to his village, which had financial problems because of the heavy taxes imposed by the Capital. Feeling the similarity to my own goal, I explained as well that I wanted to make money in the army to give to my parents. They had said so many times not to worry about anything, yet I felt like I needed to repay them for their selflessness.

"I see,", nodded Lady Aria's father after listening to our stories. "You want to become successful in the army to save your village and family..."

"Yes.", me and my friend said simultaneously.

"What a wonderful dream.", he smiled. "... But you know, it may be peaceful inside the Imperial Capital... but this country is surrounded on three sides by different races. You could be brought over to the borders to fight against them."

"I'm... prepared for that...", nodded Tatsumi. He seemed to have struggled making this decision...

"I'm ready for that possibility as well...", I voiced my decision as well. The older man smiled at our determination.

"I see, that's commendable spirits! That's how the young should be."

"Did you come from that village by yourself, Tatsumi?", Lady Aria asked my friend. He proceeded to explain that he leaved his village with two other people, Sayo and Ieyasu. Unfortunately, not long after their departure, they were separated by a group of bandits. But Tatsumi had faith that they would survive.

"Those guys are strong, so I'm not really worried...", continued Tatsumi. "Just that Ieyasu is tremendously bad with directions, so I don't know if he can get to the Capital where we're supposed to meet."

"I see!", exclaimed the older man. "I'll recommend you to an acquaintance in the military, and investigate those two as well!", he proposed his idea, to which Tatsumi nodded frantically in agreement.

"Thank you so much!", thanked Tatsumi, happy to know he would get help finding his friends.

"My intuition's good, you know.", said Lady Aria with a smile. "I think you'll see both of them before long.

"Aria-san..."

"Alright... Why don't we leave it here for now..?", said Lady Aria's father as he got up from his seat. I raised my hand.

"Since you're so kind as to accept us here, can we do something to help you?", I proposed. Lady Aria pondered for a moment.

"Hmm... After hearing your story, I figured you wouldn't be the type of guy to enjoy receiving services for free... Oh, I know! Then be my bodyguards, with the others too!" I smiled at her offer.

"With pleasure! I would love to."

"That's good.", said Lady Aria's father. "Gauri-kun, I'll let you handle it!"

"... Understood." replied the guard, Gauri.

"Thank you for everything today!", thanked Tatsumi again.

"We're all helping each other.", kindly replied Lady Aria's mother. "You do something nice for someone else, too!"

"Okay!"

* * *

(Normal POV)

The next day was spent entirely in shops and districts. Hitomi and Tatsumi quickly learned that Aria really, really loved shopping.

"We're going to that shop next!", Aria gleefully said as her guards, weighed down due to her bought stuff, slowly followed her.

"It seems we're staying home this time...", mumbled Gauri with a sweatdrop. Himself, Hitomi and Tatsumi were at the carriage's side, waiting for Aria to finish her trips in the shops.

"Her shopping's amazing, isn't it..?", Tatsumi said in awe. "The amount is just getting silly now." Hitomi nodded in agreement.

"Yeah, it's getting ridiculous... But look, she's having fun, that's the important part, right?", he smiled. Both Tatsumi and Gauri nodded, agreeing with Hitomi.

"Anyway, look up, you two.", said Gauri. The boys did as he said. "That's the center of the Capital... the Palace."

"Humongous...!", Tatsumi exclaimed. Hitomi just nodded. "Is that where the Emperor who controls the country is!?", asked the brown haired teen.

"No...", Gauri then approached the two teens so that nearby passersby wouldn't hear them. "It's a little different... There's an Emperor, but he's a child right now...", This seemed to catch Hitomi's interest. "The one that controls that Emperor from the shadows- the Minister is the ringleader that's rotting this country."

"What!?", Hitomi whispered, albeit a little loud. Gauri quickly shushed him with his hand.

"Whoa there, Don't make any noise, all right? Heads will be rolling if you're heard." Hitomi nodded before being released.

"I can't believe this...", he whispered. "I knew the Emperor was a child, but to be controlled by someone as rotten as the Minister..." Tatsumi seemed to realise something as well.

"... Then the reason my village is suffering from heavy taxes..."

"It's the Capital's common sense...", Gauri quietly said. "There are also guys like that as well.", he said, pointing to a nearby set of posters on the wall. They depicted the faces of shady-looking characters.

"... Night Raid?", Tatsumi read. Hitomi perked up after reading the posters.

"Isn't that the group of assassins?", he asked Gauri. When he nodded, he continued. "We talked about them at school just before the end of classes. As the name implies, they do nocturnal attacks on their targets, which are mostly high-ranking or rich people... Wait...", he turned towards Gauri. "Do you think they'll come after Aria-san's family?" The guard didn't answer for a few moments.

"Prepare yourselves, just in case.", he finally said. The teens looked at each other and nodded. "Also... Go do something about that for now.", Gauri said as he pointed somewhere.

"Huh?", Tatsumi said in confusion, before he saw Aria singing to herself with her guards in tow, who were lifting a heavy-looking object she bought. "What sort of training is this!?", he asked to no one in particular. "Hey, Hitomi, help me out with this." The blonde teen chuckled.

"I'm helping Gauri-kun guard the carriage, so how about no?", he said with a grin.

"You bastard! I thought you wanted to help!"

* * *

The next night, as Tatsumi and Hitomi were sleeping in their chambers, Aria's mother was walking in the hallway, with a book in her hand. "Now then... Maybe I'll make a diary entry today as well...", she said to herself. "Fufu, I really can't stop this hobby of mine..." Unbeknownst to her, she was being followed by a figure hidden in the dark. And then...

"Huh...?", she said as her body was sliced in two by a pair or gigantic scissors. The figure revealed itself to be a slender woman, with long purple hair and eyes. She wore a sleeveless lilac cheongsam with detached sleeves and white boots. She also had a pair of glasses on her nose. In her hands was the weapon used to kill the rich lady; humongous scissor with sharp-looking blades and a sort of bear symbol on the handle.

"I'm sorry.", the figure said, bowing.

Tatsumi woke up suddenly, having a bad feeling. "What's this...?", he asked to himself. "Blood thirst!?" He quickly took his sword and went out of his room towards Hitomi's. He entered without knocking and saw his blonde friend sitting on his bed, his sword in hand.

"You felt it too, I suppose?", Hitomi asked. Tatsumi nodded in response. The teens didn't waste any time as they hurried in the hallways in search of Aria, her parents or guards. Hitomi then seemed to notice something grabbed Tatsumi's collar, making him stop in his tracks.

"What is it?", he asked. He understood when Hitomi pointed something outside with a finger. "... That's...", he whispered. Five figures were standing outside on what seemed like strings. This feeling of blood lust in the air, the mysterious appearance of people outside... This meant only one thing...

"Night Raid...", Hitomi whispered. "... Fuck..."

* * *

 **Oh god D: Night Raid is FINALLY making an appearance..! What will our boys do when confronted by them? Stay tuned and find out ^^**


	5. Chapter 4

**Wheeew... Nearly 3000 words guys! xD Compared to the puny 800 you had in the first chapter, I'd say I did a good job ^^ But in any case, enjoy! :)**

* * *

 **Soul in the Dream**

 **CHAPTER 4**

(Normal POV)

"They're targeting this place as well, just because they're wealthy!?", Tatsumi exclaimed, not understanding why a nice family such as Aria's would be targeted by professional assassins.

"Look below.", Hitomi said. Tatsumi lowered his gaze and saw some of the mansion's guards running towards the group of killers.

 _'What do we do!?'_ , thought Tatsumi, while sweat dropped off his face. _'Should we go assist them... or go protect...!?'_

Meanwhile, Night Raid saw the small group of guards coming in their direction.

"Three bodyguards.", noticed a blonde girl, smiling. "They're targets, Akame-chan.", she said to a black-haired teen beside her. Her hair was long, reaching her knees and her eyes were red. She wore a dark sleeveless mini dress with a white collar and a red tie under a long, dark coat. She also wore a red belt with a red sideskirt cover. She wore it with long black socks, black shoes, red gauntlets and black gloves.

"Eliminate.", was Akame's response. She tightly gripped her sword, a katana, and jumped away from the strings, followed by a person in a full body armor. It was white, with a grey helmet, shoulder pads and breast plate. It had a long white cape and was equipped with a long, red-tipped spear.

"... Listen,", said one of the guards when the two assassins landed on the ground. "Don't touch that katana, not even one bit." He didn't have the chance to continue speaking as Akame rushed in, slicing and killing him. One of the other guards didn't have the chance to process what happened when he got skewered by the red-tipped spear, thrown by the person in the armor. The third guard, scared out of his mind, quickly ran away.

"What are these people...!? They're too much like monsters!" He hoped he would get away, but an energy bullet went right through his head, killing him instantly.

"That's pathetic. Running away in the face of an enemy.", said the culprit, a small, pink-haired teen, who was standing on the strings. The big firearm she had in her hand was still fuming from the shot. Her hair was tied in long twin-tails on each side of her head. She had big, pink eyes and sported a pink outfit, consisting of a longsleeved dress with sorts of cloth shoulder pads.

"Well... you'd normally run from that.", sweatdropped one of her comrades, a young man with shoulder-length green hair, green eyes and red goggles on top of his head. He wore a long green jacket with a fur trimmed hood over a white and red ringer shirt, complete with blue jeans and brown shoes.

Needless to say, Hitomi and Tatsumi now both had second thoughts after seeing the guards get killed in a single moment. _'In one moment... annihilated!?'_ The teens then nodded to themselves and started running. _'... At least... At least I have to protect Aria-san-!'_ , they both thought.

* * *

"Guh... ugh... h... help me...", struggled Aria's father. He was being held into the air by the blonde assassin who was on the strings a few moments ago. Except her long blonde hair, her hands and ears seemed to be those of a lion. She also had a golden lion tail. The man continued his pleas. "I have... I have a daughter...!"

"Relax", the blonde calmly said. "You'll meet her soon where you're going."

"Even my daughter...", the man gasped. "Have you no mercy!?"

"Mercy...?", the assassin repeated with a dark tone. "No idea what that means." Moments after, the sound of a neck breaking could be heard all across the hallway.

* * *

"My Lady, over here, hurry!", a guard said while dragging Aria by the hand towards the forest near the mansion. He had an automatic gun strapped on his back.

"What's happening!?", Aria asked in her confusion.

"Just go to the far-off shed for now! It'll be safe over there!" Aria and her bodyguard then heard a familiar voice calling for the Lady.

"We found you! Aria-san!"

"Tatsumi!", said Aria, smiling a bit. "And Hitomi, too!"

"You two came at just the right moment!", exclaimed the guard. "We'll run to the warehouse and wait for the guards to come! You stop the enemy for us in the meantime!"

"... Wait, what?", Hitomi did a double take, lowering his sword to the ground level. "We're meat shields now..?"

"That's crazy...", Tatsumi agreed, dumbfounded. The sound of someone landing on the ground interrupted his thoughts. The two teens looked towards the source of the sound and saw...

"Oh, crap... the black-haired chick...", Hitomi mumbled, taking a step back and raising his sword. He then sighed. "Oh, well..." He started to run in Akame's direction in hope of clashing with her. However...

"... Not a target.", He heard Akame mumble. She nimbly dodged Hitomi's strike, then jumped on his shoulders to give her a boost further towards her target, Aria.

"Oof!", Hitomi made when he hit the ground. "Why so rude..."

"... Fuck!", groaned the guard when he saw the black-haired assassin get past Tatsumi and Hitomi. "She's coming over here!" He proceeded to draw out his rifle and started to shoot at Akame. The girl swiftly dodged the bullets while approaching the guard.

"Target...", she started, putting a hand on her katana's handle. "... Eliminate!", she finished, slicing the man's body in two. She then approached Aria, who was starting to cry, and raised her sword. "Eliminate."

"WAIT, DAMMIT!" Akame quickly jumped back to avoid Tatsumi's attack. She analyzed the boy who was standing between her and the target.

"You are not a target...", Akame plainly stated. "There's no need to kill you." Tatsumi, however, didn't like her answer.

"But you're planning to kill this girl, right!?"

"Uh huh", Akame nodded.

"Uh huh!?", Tatsumi repeated, shocked at her answer.

"I'll kill you if you get in the way, you know.", the assassin warned. But Tatsumi wasn't having any of it.

"Like I'd run because of that!", roared Tatsumi, drawing his sword and pointing it at Akame.

"It's a pretty good reason if you ask me!", he heard Hitomi say from behind Akame.

"Now's not the time, Hitomi!"

"I see...", pondered Akame, looking at Tatsumi. "Then I'll eliminate.", she said darkly. Tatsumi couldn't help but shake in fear.

* * *

The blonde assassin, who revealed herself to be 'Onee-san', sporting the same face and clothes, walked out of the mansion to see how Akame was doing. She then noticed four people; her teammate standing off against a brown-haired teen who was protecting the target, along with a blonde teen, sitting on the grass behind Akame. "That's rare for Akame, she hasn't finished them off yet." She then noticed the identities of the two other people beside her target. "... Wait, huh?... Oh geez~ How unlucky can these guys get..."

'At the very least...', thought Tatsumi while he and Akame were waiting for the other to make a move. _'She's not someone I can currently beat... but... I can't be worrying about that! Besides, there's no way that a guy who can't save a single girl-'_ he then rushed towards Akame. _'-can save a village in the first place!'_

Akame's katana and Tatsumi's longsword clashed in hope of finding their way towards their opponent's flesh. Tatsumi tried to deliver an horizontal slash, but the black-haired girl jumped above his attack and sent a solid kick on his shoulder. Using his shock to her advantage, Akame quickly pulled her katana back and plunged it into Tatsumi's heart.

"Tatsumi!", yelled Aria and Hitomi, the latter getting up from his grass seat. He was about to draw his sword and rush towards Akame, but he noticed his brown-haired friend slowly getting up. _'Wait, what..?'_ , thought Hitomi.

"You won't even let your guard down and approach me?", Tatsumi asked as he brought his hand into his shirt.

"I didn't feel it bite flesh.", Akame stated.

"Hehe...", Tatsumi chuckled as he pulled out a cracked rock statue from his shirt. "The guys from the village protected me."

"No way...", mumbled Hitomi, surprised. "The statue given to him by his village elder... The fact that he randomly placed it here saved his life..."

Meanwhile, 'Onee-san' was watching the whole fight. _'Hmmm... To think he'd still be living after facing off against Akame's katana... that lad's pretty good.'_

"Eliminate.", said Akame as she ran towards Tatsumi, in hope of finishing him off. The teen held his hands back in shock.

"Wah! Wait a second! You guys are after the money or something, right? Please let this girl go! We're not even on the battlefield, yet you're trying to kill this innocent girl!?" Akame didn't seem to listen to him and was about to strike at him with her katana when...

"Hold up.", 'Onee-san' said as she grabbed Akame's collar, pulling her back.

"What're you doing?" Akame asked her comrade.

"We still have time, right?", the blonde assassin replied. "I owe this young lad a favor. I wanted to pay you back.", she winked.

"Wait a minute...", Hitomi said as he approached the girls. "You're..."

"You're the boob...!", finished Tatsumi, shocked. The blonde girl laughed at his reaction.

"Yep, the beautiful onee-san from that time~" She then took a darker tone. "Young lads. You told us not to kill an innocent girl." She then walked towards the shed nearby and broke the lock with a swift, but powerful kick. "But can you still say that after seeing this? Take a look...", she said, giving the boys space to see. "This is the darkness of the Capital."

The teens' eyes widened in shock. "Holy hell...", Hitomi muttered.

Bodies. There were bodies everywhere in the shed. Some were on the ground, some were hanged, some were dismembered, some were not, some were dead, some were still breathing...

"...Wh... What is this...!?", Tatsumi yelled in shock. He just couldn't believe what he was seeing. Hitomi was silent, watching the scene before him with disgust.

"They lure unidentified people who came from the country with their sweet words and subject them to their hobby of torture and toy with them until they die.", explained 'Onee-san'. "That's the true nature of those of this household..." Tatsumi wasn't listening to the blonde assassin anymore, as he saw the body of someone familiar to him. It was a girl, and she had burn and knife marks everywhere on her body. She was even missing her right leg.

"... Sayo?" He began to approach the hanged body. "Hey Sayo... Sayo-...!"

"So there was someone you knew...", concluded 'Ones-san'. Meanwhile, Aria was using the discussion taking place before her to escape. Her hopes went away as she felt a clawed hand grab her collar. "Nuh uh, you're not getting off the hook by running away, little lady.", said the blonde assassin, the small girl in tow.

"The people of this house did this?", Tatsumi asked, still in shock.

"That's right.", 'Onee-san' nodded. "The guards were keeping quiet about it so they're similarly guilty." Aria began shaking in fear.

"It... It's a lie!", she said, sobbing. "I didn't know there was a place like this! Are you going to believe me, the one that saved you, or these guys, Tatsumi!?" Hitomi raised his hand to get everybody's attention.

"Something's wrong here.", he said, turning towards Aria. "When this guy was still in one piece, he was about to hide you in there, right?", he continued, referring to the now sliced-in-half guard. "I'm pretty sure that if you didn't know about this, he would have tried to hide you somewhere else, am I wrong?"

"N-No, that's..."

Hitomi was about to continue when everyone heard someone from inside the warehouse calling for Tatsumi.

"Ta... tsu... mi... Tatsumi, right? It's me..." Tatsumi's eyes widened in shock at what he saw.

"I... Ieyasu!?" It was indeed Tatsumi's friend. He was covered in burns, cuts and dark patches on his body. Anyone could tell he wouldn't last for long.

"That girl invited Sayo and me...", Ieyasu weakly explained, panting. "And after we ate, we lost consciousness, and we were here when we came to. Th... That girl... She tortured Sayo to death...!"

"I rest my case.", Hitomi said, crossing his arms.

"What's so wrong!?", everyone heard Aria say as she freed herself from 'Onee-san''s grip. " **YOU'RE JUST WORTHLESS HICKS FROM THE COUNTRY, RIGHT!?** ", she started yelling. " **THE SAME AS CATTLE! I SHOULD BE FREE TO TREAT THEM HOWEVER I WANT! BESIDES, THAT GIRL WAS SO IMPERTINENT FOR HAVING SUCH STRAIGHT HAIR FOR A FARM ANIMAL! EVEN THOUGH I'M TROUBLED WITH SUCH UNRULY HAIR! THAT'S WHY I AGONIZED HER SO METICULOUSLY! IN FACT, SHE SHOULD BE GRATEFUL I TOOK SUCH GOOD CARE OF HER!** "

"A family of sadists that takes the guise of samaritans...", 'Onee-san' spat. "Sorry for getting in your way, Akame..."

"Eliminate..."

"Requesting permission to kill...", said Hitomi, gripping his sword. He never even thought of killing someone in his entire life, but right now, the temptation was too strong.

"Wait.", said Tatsumi, surprising everyone else.

"Are you still trying to defend her?", asked Hitomi, genuinely confused. "Even your friend said she's guilty..."

"No... that's not it...", replied Tatsumi. He then drew his sword and cut through Aria's belly like if it was butter. "I'll kill her.", he said. Hitomi pouted as Aria's body fell limp.

"... Kill stealer..."

 _'Hmmm... She was hateful, but to kill her without hesitation...'_ , thought 'Onee-san'. She glanced at Hitomi, who was faking crying over Aria's body. _'This one isn't even shocked of his friend killing someone. He's even mad because he didn't get the kill...'_

"Hehehe...", Ieyasu weakly chuckled. "That's Tatsumi for you... That felt great..." He then began coughing blood all over the floor.

"What's wrong, Ieyasu!?", asked Tatsumi, rushing to his friend's aid.

"It's the last stages of Lubora disease...", Akame explained. "The mistress here enjoyed putting people on drugs and writing how they were doing in a diary... He can't be saved anymore."

"... Tatsumi", panted Ieyasu, capting everyone's attention. "You know, Sayo... she didn't submit to that fucking girl, even to the very end... It was so cool... So for my death, this Ieyasu-sama here will also... keep it real..." Ieyasu's last breath was held in Tatsumi's hands.

"He was already in a state where he was hanging on by willpower alone...", Akame stated.

"... What's wrong with the Capital...?", Tatsumi asked to no one in particular. He was crying at his childhood friend's death.

"Let's go.", said Akame as she turned back.

"Hm~ Hey, why don't we bring these lads back with us?", proposed 'Onee-san'.

"Hm?", Akame and Hitomi asked.

"Our hideout's always shorthanded.", she explained, grabbing the still-crying Tatsumi's collar. "Don't you think they have luck and guts... and skill as well?", she continued, dragging poor Tatsumi.

"Lemme go! I have to dig their graves!"

"Ah. I'll bring their bodies to the hideout later, so don't worry."

"Whaat!?"

Hitomi chuckled to himself as he obediently followed.

* * *

Later, at the top of the mansion...

"So they're finally back.", said a manly voice coming from the armor.

"It'd be bad if we don't retreat soon.", added the green-haired, holding a watch.

"You're late!", pointed out the pink-haired girl. "What were you doing!?" She then made a blank face. "Wait. What is that?", she asked, noticing Hitomi standing beside Akame and Tatsumi in 'Onee-san''s arms.

"Two of us.", the blonde replied, while Tatsumi was trying to wiggle his way out. He stopped struggling.

"What!?"

"Huh? I didn't tell you?" She then smiled gleefully. "Starting from today, you two are with us! Congrats on your inauguration to Night Raid!"

"What the hell's up with that!?", Tatsumi yelled.

"Give it up.", Akame said. "Leone won't listen once she gets started."

"As expected of my bud, you know me well~", 'Onee-san', known as Leone, patted Akame's hair. "Bulat, I'll leave this guy to you." She gave Tatsumi to the man in armor, who took him and put him under his arm. Leone then looked at Hitomi. "You'll behave yourself, right?"

"Yes ma'am!", the blonde boy saluted.

"Lemme go!", yelled Tatsumi. "I have no intention of becoming an assassin..." The man in armor, Bulat, turned his head towards Tatsumi's.

"It's okay.", he said in a gentle voice. "It'll get better soon."

"Mission complete.", said Akame. "Let's return!"

* * *

 **Next time, we're finally gonna include our boys in the assassin group! :D About time...**


	6. Chapter 5

**Hello guys, I'm back with another chapter :P**

 **Damn though... It's only been a little more than a week, and I already got 3 reviews, 7 favorites and 10 followers D: You guys are awesome :D Anyway, enjoy this new chapter :)**

* * *

 **Soul in the Dream**

 **CHAPTER 5**

(Tatsumi's POV)

 _"We three swear that when we die, we die together!" "We're gonna get successful in the Capital and earn money!" "We're gonna save our poor hometown!"_ , Sayo, Ieyasu and I had said before we departed from our village to the Capital.

"... And we even said stuff like that...", I mumbled, looking at my friends' graves. Leone did as she told me and went retrieve their bodies in the warehouse we found them in so that I could bury them properly. A lone tear escaped my eye as I remembered the state they were in when we discovered them. "It's... just me now..."

"HEEEYYY!~", I heard a familiar voice call out, making me jump in shock. I quickly turned around and saw Leone smiling at me.

"Whooooa!? What're you doing all of a sudden!", I yelled, my heart pounding rapidly.

"Don't keep sulking forever! It's been three days since then.", she replied. "Have you made your decision to become a part of Night Raid? Hitomi accepted on the spot, you know.", she added.

"This guy takes decisions way too fast...", I mumbled, sweatdropping.

 _* Flashback *_

 _The morning after the warehouse incident..._

 _"So,", said Leone as she eyed me and Hitomi. "Have you decided about joining Night Raid, you two?", she asked. I was still hesitant about this... It wasn't my intention to be an assassin in the first place._

 _"I-I'm not sure...", I replied, unsure. "Give me some time to think about it, okay?"_

 _"I'm in!", Hitomi immediately said after. I stared at him, shocked at his quick answer. He seemed to notice. "We were gonna get into the army and kill random people in the borders, so why not get into an assassin group and kill random people in the Capital?", he shrugged. I swear, this guy..._

 _"I wouldn't call them random people... but I guess your logic's fine.", said Leone, scratching the back of her head. "In any case, Hitomi, welcome to Night Raid!"_

 _* End Flashback *_

"Still~", said Leone as she grabbed my head and poked me on the nose. "I think you have talent for murder though~ Onee-san guarantees it~"

"... I'm not wavering because of talent and such... something like murder..." The blonde girl just smiled and took my head between her arm, dragging me along with her.

"Well, at any rate,", she said, still smiling. "I'll show you around the hideout today! By the way, this is in the mountains 10 km north of the Capital.", she explained.

"Is it okay leaving it so open!?", I asked, still struggling. "Aren't you assassins for hire!?"

* * *

(Normal POV)

"Huh? You haven't made your decision to join yet?", asked the scissor-wielding girl. Leone dragged Tatsumi in the meeting room, where two people were seated, reading. The purple-haired assassin lifted her eyes off her book when she asked her question. On the other side of the table, was Hitomi, reading a book of his own.

"Yeah, Sheele.", replied Leone. "Shower him with some warm words for me.", she asked the glass-wearing girl, Sheele.

"Mmm~", she pondered for a moment. She then raised her finger in realisation. "In the first place, now that you know the location of our hideout, you'll be killed if you don't become one of us you know?"

"That's so warm it's making me tear up.", Tatsumi deadpanned, a little scared of Sheele's 'warm words'. He heard Hitomi gently chuckle from the other side of the table.

"You should think it over carefully.", Sheele finished, returning to her book. Tatsumi, curious, bent over to see what kind of book the girl was reading.

 _'100 Ways to Fix Airheadedness'_ , the title said. _'... So this really is a gathering of weirdos after all.'_ , Tatsumi thought. He then went to where Hitomi was seated. _'100 Ways to Fix Psychopathic Behavior'_ was written on Hitomi's book's frontpage. _'God dammit, really!?'_ , Tatsumi shook his head as a voice rang in the meeting room.

"Heeey! Wait a second, Leone!" It was the small pink-haired teen, who just entered the room. She was pointing a finger at Tatsumi. "Why're you letting that guy into the hideout!?", she asked rather aggressively. "The other guy, I'm fine with, but this one isn't even with us!"

"Don't worry, he'll come around.", Leone shrugged.

"He hasn't gotten the Boss' permission, either!", the pink-haired girl continued her rant. Hitomi raised his eyes from his book.

"I haven't gotten the Boss' permission either, you know..."

"No one asked you, newbie!"

"Sorry, sorry."

The small pink-haired assassin then stared down Tatsumi, as if analysing him. "Not qualified.", she finally said, turning her head away from him. "It doesn't seem like he'll be able to work with professionals like us at all... from looking at his face!"

"WHA!?", Tatsumi yelled as Hitomi guffawed loudly. "What was that, punk!?"

"Don't worry about it.", Leone reassured him. "Mine's like that to everyone."

"If it can make you feel better,", Hitomi added. "I didn't pass either."

"Well of course you wouldn't pass!", retorked the pink-haired teen, Mine. "Nobody ever seen you fight yet!"

"I suppose it's true...", the blonde boy shrugged, closing his book.

* * *

"This is the stress release area called the training grounds.", Leone explained as she continued her tour. Hitomi, bored of his book, decided to tag along.

 **"DORYAAAAA!"** , someone yelled. **"HIYA! HIYA! HIYA! HIYA!"**

"And over there,", Leone continued, pointing to a muscular man swinging a wooden spear around. "The one who clearly looks like he reeks of sweat, is Bulat."

 **"NWOOOOH!"** , Bulat yelled again as he spun the spear around, creating gusts of wind from the swings alone.

 _'... Amazing.'_ , Tatsumi thought, impressed. _'What spearhandling!'_

"Phewwww...", Bulat panted. "Ah, hey, it's Leone and... Hitomi, right?" Now that he stopped moving around, Tatsumi could see his face properly. He was tall, muscular, had blue eyes and black hair wore in a combed up, heart-shaped pompadour. "And, that boy is... the dude from before!"

"How do you know me?" Tatsumi asked, confused.

"He's the guy who was covered in armor the other day.", Hitomi answered. "You remember, right?"

"Oh, AHH!" Tatsumi realised.

"It's Bulat, nice to meet you!", the black-haired man greeted, holding his hand for Tatsumi to shake.

"H... Hi." the brown-hair stuttered as he shook the muscular man's hand. Leone then leaned towards the two teens.

"Be careful, you two.", she warned. "This guy's a homo."

"Hey, hey," Bulat said while smiling. "They'd misunderstand, right?", he added, blushing profusely while looking at Tatsumi.

 _'Deny it for me, please!'_ , hoped the brown-haired teen, his skin turning white.

"Looks like you got a fan, buddy.", Hitomi teased. Tatsumi didn't reply, uncomfortable from his interaction with Bulat.

* * *

Somewhere outside, near a small lake, a figure was lying on its stomach, eyeing the body of water while panting. The figure in question was the green-haired teen, who was using his green coat to camouflage himself. "It's almost Leone's bathing time.", he said to himself, smirking in anticipation while waiting for his prey. "I won't think twice about the danger if it's to see those breasts!"

"Then how about I break two fingers.", said blonde proposed from behind him, making him scream in shock.

 **"BAAAAAAAA!"**

"You never learn, Lubbo.", Leone stated, tightly holding the boy's fingers between her hand.

"Fuck! I can still go on! Forever!", announced the green-haired teen, wincing in pain.

"Then it's one arm next." Leone used her other arm to grab his arm and slowly twisted it. "... And so, this idiot is Lubbock!", she introduced as the green-haired teen struggled to free himself.

"No, in fact this is also good in and of itself!", Hitomi heard Lubbock say through his breath.

"Better luck next time, Lubbo.", he said to the young pervert. Over the last three days, he and Lubbock have become good friends, sharing... similar interests.

Releasing Lubbock, Leone looked around, searching for something. "Next is... maybe at the riverbed?", she pondered.

"I've kind of had enough already..." Tatsumi sighed as the group of three started walking away.

"Ahaha! It's a pretty girl next so you can look forward to it~", Leone reassured with a wink. "See, the one over there's Akame.", she pointed forward, where a fire was lit. "Isn't she cute?"

Tatsumi and Hitomi's eyes went wide as they saw the black-haired girl, Akame. She was sitting near the fire, where gently roasted a gigantic bird. Sometimes, the girl would stretch her arm to grab a piece of the bird to eat.

"I-Is that..?", Hitomi started.

"... an Evilbird!?", Tatsumi finished, shocked. The humongous black bird, known as an Evilbird, was known for being an extremely aggressive and powerful Danger Beast, one of its kind being able to destroy entire villages by themselves... And Akame was eating one.

"Wait...", Hitomi did a double take. "She killed an Evilbird by herself and is now eating it..!? Holy hell, this is hardcore..."

"Akame may look like that, but she grew up in the wild.", Leone added, crossing her arms in satisfaction. The black-haired girl turned her head, noticing the newcomers.

"You should eat too, Leone, Hitomi.", Akame said, tossing both blondes a piece of meat from the Evilbird.

"Oh, thanks!", Leone said, happily accepting the food. Hitomi eyed carefully the piece of meat, before taking a small bite. Moments later, the entire thing was in his mouth, being chewed with energy.

"Ohh gosh! Jhish ish goood~", Hitomi said, his mouth full of Evilbird meat.

Akame was about to give a piece to Tatsumi, but she refrained. "Did you... become one of us?", she asked him. He shook his head.

"No..."

"Then I still can't be giving this meat to you."

"God, you're missing something, Tatsumi.", Hitomi said, having swallowed his food. "It doesn't have any seasoning, yet it's better than most meat I ate in my entire life!"

"But still, aren't you being extravagant today, Akame?", Leone asked, curious.

"The Boss is back.", the black-haired teen answered, pointing at the other side of the fire, where another person was seated. It was a woman with short silver hair and a light purple left eye. She wore an eye patch over her right eye and sported a black suit. Her right arm was also mechanical, dark green in color.

"Yo.", the woman greeted. Leone happily went greet her.

"Welcome back, Boss! Do you have any souvenirs~?", she asked, smiling brightly.

"Putting that aside, Leone,", the Boss shrugged off her question. "In the job three days ago..." Her mechanical arm started to lightly shake. "It seems you went over the operation time, eh?"

 _'... Not good!'_ , Leone thought. She was in trouble, and she knew it. She tried to run away, but the Boss' mechanical arm detached itself from the wrist and grabbed Leone's shoulder. With a screeching sound, the metal hand began to reel back towards the rest of the arm via a cable connecting the two parts.

"It's not good to enjoy fighting with a strong enemy too much...", the Boss advised. "Do something to fix that habit of yours."

"I got it, so stop that screeching sound!", the blonde girl pleaded.

"By the way, who are these young boys?", the Boss asked as she released Leone from her grip.

"Oh! That's right, Boss!" She took Tatsumi by the shoulders and presented him like a trophy. "I recommend these talented guys!"

"Hey! Stop doing that!", Tatsumi said, irritated that everyone decided for him that he was part of Night Raid.

"Do they show promise?", asked the silver-haired woman.

"They do.", replied Leone, remembering what happened three days prior, at the warehouse. "Well anyway, just give it a try!"

"Is this a part time job!?", Tatsumi asked, shocked.

"The wage is high, too.", Akame added, giving another piece of Evilbird to Hitomi, who happily accepted it.

"Is this a part time job!?", Tatsumi repeated. The Boss took a little time to think about what happened and her decision.

"Akame.", she finally said, obtaining the black-haired teen's attention. "Gather everyone in the meeting room. I want to hear the results of the previous operation." She then rose from her seat and grabbed her coat. "In detail, including about these two.", she finished, walking towards the hideout's direction.

* * *

 **So the boys (mainly Tatsumi though...) finally met the Night Raid members D:**

 **You know what? I got a question for you guys if you want. You can answer in the Review section (duh!)**

 **What type of relation do you think Hitomi will have with Night Raid's members?**

 **Until then, see you next time :)**


	7. Chapter 6

**Hello guys ^^ A slighty shorter chapter here, but I don't think you mind much ^^' This is mostly Tatsumi saying his wall of text before joining Night Raid... but oh well. Enjoy!**

* * *

 **Soul in the Dream**

 **CHAPTER 6**

(Hitomi's POV)

Everyone in Night Raid was gathered in the meeting room. The Boss was seated in a black leather chair near the wall while Tatsumi and myself were standing in the middle of the room. The other members were standing as well, surrounding us as we explained our situation to the silver-haired woman.

"I see.", nodded the Boss after we finished our tale. "I understand the situation completely." She turned her head towards me. "Hitomi, I heard from Leone that you wanted to join us, is that right?", she asked me. I nodded, smiling.

"Yeah, that's right.", I replied. "I know none of you has seen what I can do for now, but I assure I won't be a burden.", I said, turning on my serious face. The Boss nodded, signalling that she understood.

"Then in that case.", she said. "Hitomi, welcome to Night Raid! Do not disappoint us." I nodded, smiling while she turned, now facing Tatsumi.

"Now, Tatsumi.", the Boss said, tending her arm towards the brown-haired teen. "Would you like to join Night Raid?"

"I'm dead if I decline, right?", he asked, still unsure. The Boss shook her head.

"No, that's not going to happen... But we can't let you go back.", she replied. "We'll have you work as a laborer in our workshop."

"Sounds interesting, eh?", I elbowed him with a grin.

"At any rate, you won't die even if you decline.", the Boss continued. "Given that... what do you think?", she asked again. Tatsumi was silent for a moment. It seemed like he was hesitating to speak.

"I...", he started, clenching his fist. "was planning to go out to the Capital and become successful to save my village, which is suffering from poverty... But even the Imperial Capital's rotting!"

"The countryside's poor and suffering because the center's rotten.", Bulat said. He was leaning against the wall at our right. "Don't you want to unroot the source of the rot? As a man!"

"Bulat was originally a skilled Imperial soldier.", the Boss explained. "But he learned of the Empire's corruption and became one of us."

"After all,", Bulat added. "our work is to eliminate the evildoers in the Capital. It's much better than working under those rotten people."

 _'And here I was...'_ , I thought. _'... training myself in hope of joining the Imperial army someday... The Capital's THAT rotten, huh..? ... I did the right choice.'_

Tatsumi was still skeptical about everything he has been told as of now. "But, even if you just kill bad guys little by little,", he said. "the world won't change greatly, will it?" He actually made a good point there... "In the end,", he continued. "places in remote regions like my village won't be saved like that." The Boss seemed to understand what he wanted to say.

"I see. Then Night Raid fits you even more perfectly.", she said.

"How come?"

"Far south of the Capital,", started the assassins' leader, "there's the hideout of an anti-empirical force, the Revolutionary Army."

"... Revolutionary Army?", Tatsumi repeated.

"The Revolutionary Army, which started out small, had grown into a large-scale organization by now.", the Boss continued. "Then, inevitably, a unit to handle covert jobs such as assassination and information gathering was created. That's us, Night Raid. Right now we're exterminating the Capital's ticks, but in the event that the Army takes action, we'll take advantage of the confusion, and the Prime Minister, who is the cause of the corruption-", she clenched her mechanical fist. "We will take him out ourselves!" Tatsumi looked surprised by the Boss' determination towards this. "That's our goal.", she added. "There are others, but I'll leave them for now. Although I can't say anything specific about when they'll rise to action, we've prepared a plan to win. When that time comes, this country will change for sure."

"... Will this new country... treat the people well?", Tatsumi asked after a moment of hesitation.

"Of course."

"I see. Awesome..." He then smiled brightly. "So the killing you're doing now is just targeting bad guys to clean out the trash... It's what they call assassins of justice, isn't it!", he said, surprising everyone.

Silence. More silence. Then...

"Pft... HAHAAHAHA!" Everyone, excluding Akame, started laughing at his... ridiculous logic. I mean... assassins of justice... Really, buddy!?

"Wh... What is it?", Tatsumi asked, genuinely confused. "What's so funny?" He apparently didn't understand... I was about about to raise my voice and say it, but Leone beat me to it.

"Tatsumi.", she said. "No matter how you dress it up," Her tone suddenly got dark. "What we're doing is murder..."

"There's no way there's any justice in that.", Sheele added.

"Every person here...", Bulat said. "could receive retribution and die at any moment." I was tempted to joke around, saying that I haven't even killed anyone yet, but I refrained.

"Each person has his own reason for fighting," the Boss spoke. "but they're all prepared... Will your opinion still stay the same?"

"Will I get rewarded?", Tatsumi asked.

"Yeah. If you work properly, you'll be able to save a hometown or thereabout."

"Then I'll do it!", decided Tatsumi. "Let me into Night Raid! If it's for a big goal like that, Sayo and Ieyasu would have done the same!"

"You might become unable to freely return to your village, though.", Mine retorted.

"It's fine. As long as everyone in the village can be happy through that."

"... Hmph"

"It's decided.", the Boss said. "Welcome to the path of carnage, Tatsumi." Wait...

"Why does he get a good and cool introduction while I only get a 'Welcome to Night Raid'!?", I whined, pouting. "It's so unfair..." The grey-haired woman clearly wasn't prepared for my sudden outburst, but quickly recomposed herself.

"Ahem... I was wondering when you would show that side of yours.", she announced.

"Huh?"

"Leone told me you had an... interesting personality. You were awfully serious the whole time, so I was wondering if what she said was true."

"I... see..." I honestly didn't really know what to say to that. Suddenly, as if fate came to rescue me from this awkwardness, the strings attached to Lubbock's hands began to wire back for some reason. Surprised, he raised his voice.

"Intruders! Najenda-san!" He can detect intruders with those?

"What're their numbers and location?", calmly asked the Boss, who's name was apparently Najenda.

"According to the reaction from my barrier, it's probably eight people.", Lubbock responded. "They've all infiltrated close to the hideout!"

"They're good.", Najenda said. To sniff out this place means... They're probably mercenaries of another race." She took a black cigarette from a pouch in her suit and lit it with a lighter. "There's no other way. It's an emergency sortie.", she called. "Don't let any of them return alive."

* * *

 **Well, there it is :P Sorry again for that part you all probably know, but I have to go through it so... yeah. Until next time :)**


	8. Chapter 7

**Hey guys! :) I'm here with another chapter for you! :D Now you'll finally get some action... Anyway, I probably won't be posting this week because final exams... so yeah.**

* * *

 **Soul in the Dream**

 **CHAPTER 7**

(Hitomi's POV)

"Go!", the Boss ordered. Without a word, everyone else in the room rushed towards the exit, heading outside to take care of the intruders in the vicinity. Not really knowing what to do, I followed the person closest to me, Akame.

"Hey, Akame!", I said as I ran close to her. "You mind if I come with you?", I asked.

"I don't.", she replied after glancing at me. "I've been wanting to see how you fight.", she said. Her voice had nearly no emotion, it creeped me out a little.

"I thought you would've been a little more thrilled at finally seeing me fight.", I joked. Akame, however, kept a straight face as she ran.

"We would've seen you fight one day.", she said, making me pout jokingly. We were now running in the forest surrounding the hideout, close to a river. "Here they are." We came to a stop and there was, indeed, people who were clearly not assassins from Night Raid. Three of them, in fact. They all had tanned skin, wore similar white pants and were shirtless. Two of them had a white hood on their heads while the third wore a white scarf instead, showing his black hair.

"The fact that she's here,", said one of the men. "means their hideout really is somewhere around here... It was worth searching steadily."

"Still, what a cute girl.", added another one. Oh, you have got to be kidding me...

"Looks like we can still have some fun after we kill her.", said the first man. "Don't damage her body too much.", he smirked. He looked proud of himself for some reason...

"So... what, guys?", I voiced, turning the attention towards me. "You into necrophilia, or..?"

"What did you say!?", growled one of the men. I raised my arms in defense.

"Sorry, sorry!", I quickly apologised before smirking deviously. "I just didn't know it was in your culture, forgive me.", I mocked. The hoodless man, seemingly angry, drew his sword and pointed it at my throat.

"That's it!", he roared, his eyes flaming. "We don't know who you are, but you'll be the one to die first!" He then ran towards me, determined to kill me after I insulted his race. I glanced at Akame, half-expecting her to impose herself to kill the angry intruder, but she stayed where she was, eyeing me carefully. I drew my sword.

"Show time...", I mumbled. I quickly rolled to the side to avoid the man's strike. I tried to swing my sword at his arm, but he saw it coming and blocked it with his own weapon. I quickly pulled back and struck again, this time aiming at his stomach. My opponent smirked, lowering his sword to block my blow. However, he did as I wanted. By lowering his blade, he left himself exposed, so I took this opportunity to slug him with my left fist. He stepped back, rubbing his cheek with his hand. Before he could react, I plunged my sword in his heart, earning me my first kill.

"Ack!", he made before falling to the ground. I quickly swiped the blood off my sword as I turned to see what Akame was doing during that time. She was standing in the exact same spot, except the two other men were dead beside her, their throats wide open.

"I suddenly feel bad for making you wait...", I commented sheepishly. I expected her to say something in the lines of 'Yeah, you're right', but she smiled at me instead.

"For your first kill, it was well done.", she said, surprising me. "Most people show more hesitation or have trouble finishing off their opponent. You have potential.", she added.

"O-Oh, thanks, I guess."

"Although please refrain from making racist comments near Mine."

"Hehe, don't worry about that.", I chuckled. "I only say things like that when I fight, to lower their guard, make them rage, you know?", I explained. "I actually have a lot of respect for those who manage to live through racism and bullying."

Akame smiled when I finished my speech. "Let's go.", she spoke. "There might be more of them around here." I nodded, following her through the woods.

* * *

(Normal POV)

'I'll survive and report it to our client, the Empire!', thought a member of the group intruding Night Raid's hideout. He had confirmed the territory was indeed occupied by the assassins and decided to retreat to relay the news to his client. After all, what's more important than the pay received for a job well done? What the mercenary didn't know was that he was right in the center of Mine's scope. The pink-haired was sitting in some bushes, aiming the unsuspecting man using a small visor on her left eye.

"He's ran very far away.", she stated. "I have to expose myself like this to be able to hit that." While she was focusing her aim, another man jumped from behind her, a machete in hand.

"Gotcha!", he let out, proud of himself for surprising the assassin. Mine, however, smirked, knowing that the intruder has fallen into her trap. Indeed, a sniper was rarely left unprotected...

Before the man was able to bring down his machete to finish off Mine, he got sliced in two by a gigantic pair of scissors. "I'm sorry.", Sheele apologised from behind him.

"Thanks, Sheele.", thanked Mine, ignoring the two newly-dead halves beside her. "Nice pinch.", she pondered, taking aim once again. "It'll reach just fine with this risk...!" She then fired her weapon, but instead of a sniper bullet, it unleashed a large beam entirely made of energy. Hearing the sound, the tanned-skinned man looked behind him, only to be completely disintegrated by the massive wave of yellowish energy. Not only he was no more, but the entire landscape between him and Mine was entirely obliterated.

"Alright! Right on target!", chirped the pink-haired assassin. "The more of a pinch I'm in, the stronger I get!"

* * *

Elsewhere, Leone was sitting on one of the men intruding the hideout's territory. He was clearly beaten to death, with deep scratches and broken bones. One of her lion ears then twitched after hearing a distant sound. "Oh?", she made, gazing off. "That was Mine's Pumpkin just now.", she concluded. "I can't believe she uses such a bothersome Teigu." She looked down at the dead man below her, smirking. "On that point, for me, I turn into a beast and beat them to death... Easy to understand."

* * *

Inside a cave close to the forest, a girl was trapped by rows of threads. She couldn't move at all and the strings wouldn't break no matter how much strength she applied. "U... gh...", she made as she continued to struggle.

"I thought the weight of the threads felt light,", Lubbock said, holding the small strings in his hand. "but it was a girl, huh."

"Save me! Please!", the young woman pleaded, on the verge of tears. "I'll do anything!"

"Nooope.", the green-haired teen responded. He clenched his fist. The girl then suddenly yelped in pain as the threads ensnaring her constricted her until they began to cut their way into her skin, slicing her up. "I knew a guy who died by getting tricked by seduction." After a few moments, Lubbock released her and she fell limp on the rock floor, dead. After glancing at the body, he sighed. "Ah~ What a waste! It's such a painful occupation in times like these!", he groaned, scratching his head as he exited the cave.

* * *

"Listen...", Bulat had said to Tatsumi earlier. "If the enemy were to run away, there's a large possibility they'll come through here. Even slowing them down's okay. Just somehow fight back."

"What a total newbie role.", the young recruit sighed. He was laying on his stomach with a small branch in each hand to camouflage himself. "Is the enemy really gonna come...?" To his surprise, a man jumped in his line of view, visibly trying to escape. He was wearing a sabertooth cat's head on his own head. Tatsumi quickly got up and drew his sword.

"So they had even stationed someone here!", growled the cat-wearing man.

"I can't let you pass!", Tatsumi spoke. _'I have to kill someone I have no resentment against... But if I hesitate here... I'll die.'_

"Even though you're a boy...", said the older man, drawing a machete. "I won't hold back!"

* * *

"I wonder if that newcomer died.", Mine said, sitting on a fallen tree trunk.

"Are you talking about Tatsumi or Hitomi?", Sheele asked, standing beside her.

"Tatsumi.", the pink-haired replied plainly. "The other guy's with Akame so he'll be fine."

"I think it won't be a problem.", Sheele stated, refering to Tatsumi.

"It's rare for you to evaluate someone, Sheele."

"He fought Akame and survived, after all."

"Well, that's true."

"Besides...", the purple-haired girl continued. "According to Akame, who crossed swords with him..."

* * *

Tatsumi dodged the machete strike coming at him. "RAAHHHHH!", he roared as he slit the man's chest open with his blade.

"He's a cluster of potential.", Sheele continued her explanation. "If he keeps training, he has the capacity to become General-class..."

"... How's that...", Tatsumi panted, seeing the intruder bleed out before his eyes. "These... With Sayo... And Ieyasu... The three of us... THESE ARE THE MOVES WE BUILT UP!", he yelled at the man. The wounded man, still alive, raised his head, a look of fear in his eyes.

"I beg of you!", he pleaded. "Let me go! If I die, my village-!" Tatsumi widened his eyes, dumbfounded. Someone else was fighting for his village, just like him... As he let his guard down, the downed man quickly got up and swung his machete. "Hahaha, you're naïve, young boy!", he laughed. "I'll have you die for my clan!" Just as he was about to cut off Tatsumi's head, Akame came from nowhere and plunged her katana deep into the man's heart, making him fall over and die. She had no emotion in her face whatsoever.

"Don't waver...", she calmly said. "You should land the killing blow promptly." At that moment, Hitomi came running from the woods, panting.

"Haannn, haannn... What did I miss..?", he slowly said, catching his breath.

"I killed this man before he dealt a killing blow to Tatsumi.", Akame replied, making the blonde teen jump in joy.

"Yesssss! It means we're tied for the number of kills, right?", Hitomi chirped in joy.

"You killed someone?", Tatsumi asked.

"That I did!", the blonde announced with pride. Suddenly, Bulat, in his armor, jumped out from the woods.

"Hiya! The enemy came running over here, right!?", hollered the armored man, ready for action. "Leave the rest to me!"

"It's over already.", Akame blankly stated.

"Huh?"

* * *

 **And yup ^^ When he fights, Hitomi is a complete troll. What a surprise :O**


	9. Chapter 8

**Hello guys :) One week of exam left, so I'll just go study I guess...**

* * *

 **Soul in the Dream**

 **CHAPTER 8**

(Normal POV)

After a successful defense against the mercenaries invading Night Raid's hideout, the group of assassins was having a little party outside, singing, drinking, dancing, doing party things. During the small festivities, the new recruits, Hitomi and Tatsumi, were discussing with Najenda about their first day as Night Raid assassins.

"Nice work on your first battle, you two.", the Boss praised the two teens. Hitomi was bearing a victorious smile while Tatsumi looked a little more gloomy.

"Y-Yeah.", he responded.

"But, hearing Akame's report, Tatsumi.", Najenda continued, glancing at the brown-haired boy. "There are also some things to be uneasy about... In order for you to survive, I see that you need someone to teach you a lot of things." She then looked him in the eyes, telling him her decision. "Team up with Akame and learn from her."

"WHAAA!?", Tatsumi let out, dumbfounded. In all honesty, he wasn't really fond of the black-haired girl. She showed next to no emotion, was direct and pointed out all his mistakes. He didn't like her.

"Got it Akame?", the Boss said, turning towards said girl, who was near the three, eating a big piece of chicken.

"Uh huh.", she acknowledged, nodding.

"You can cut him down if it seems he'll get in the way."

"Uh huh. Got it."

 _'You got it!?'_ , thought Tatsumi, shocked and a little scared of the conversation happening before him. He could hear Hitomi beside him trying his best not to laugh in his face but ignored him.

"You're lucky to be able to be taught by a cute girl.", the Boss stated, smirking. "Do your best so you don't get killed!" After a small moment of silence, Hitomi raised his hand.

"So, uh, how about me, Boss?", he asked. "Do I get a tutor too?" Najenda thought about this for a few seconds.

"Hmm... Akame stated that you possessed a lot of potential, showing no hesitation in combat. In all honesty, I don't think it'll be necessary for you to team up with someone for now." Tatsumi, a little jealous, gave the stink-eye to Hitomi, who was doing a little victory dance. The Boss then spoke again. "But, Akame also told me that you were extremely cocky during your fight. Try to arrange that, it'll only get you killed." Instead of accepting the Boss' advice, the blonde teen shook his head.

"Can't do anything about that, Boss.", he said, smirking. "It's just how I fight. No insults, no action."

"... I see... Still, be careful with that."

* * *

(Hitomi's POV)

The next day, after a good breakfast made by Akame and Tatsumi, I made my way up to my room. There was something I needed done.

'They arrive in a month... but still...", I thought, searching for a piece of paper and a pen. After some hunting, I found what I was looking for and began to write. A few minutes passed, then I heard a gentle hand knock on the door. "Yes?", I asked. The door opened and Sheele was at the other side. "Oh, hello, Sheele.", I smiled.

"I just came to see if you were okay.", my friend said with a caring smile. "After we ate, you went into your room without a word, so I began to worry that something was wrong." As she said, she visibly looked worried, despite us knowing each other for less than a week.

"Oh, I'm fine.", I replied, smiling to calm her. "I had to do something important.", I shrugged. The purple-haired assassin noticed the paper I held in my hand.

"Is this what you had to do?", she asked. I nodded. "May I read it?" Not seeing a problem with Sheele's demand, I handed her the piece of paper. She began to read the letter I wrote.

 _'Dear parents,_

 _I know you always want me to get straight to the point when announcing something important, so I'll do just that. I won't be returning home for a while. Why? I think you know the answer. I feel like I need to repay you for the attention and care you gave me since my birth. You payed me clothes, food, education... despite us being poor. You gave me the money you gained without a second thought. Now it's my turn to do something for you. I found a good way to make money outside the Capital, so I'll be going there. Please don't bother the guards to search for me. They won't find me. During that time, please use the money you earned for you own benefits. I can't think of anything else to write, so I'll keep it here._

 _Until we meet again,_  
 _Hitomi'_

"... This is really good.", Sheele announced when she finished reading. She had a gentle smile on her face. "You really love your parents, right?" I smiled.

"Yeah, I do.", I replied, remembering the good times I had with them. "The only way I know to get me serious is to talk about them. I just can't joke around when talking about them..."

"I understand." My friend seemed to remember something. "Oh, that's right. Myself, Bulat, Lubbock and Mine are going a mission today, so don't worry about us."

"Hehe, don't worry I won't.", I chuckled.

* * *

I found myself walking up the mountains with Tatsumi and Akame, who stayed at the hideout while the others went on their mission. Leone and the Boss were also here, but they seemed to be doing something important so I didn't bother them. We were apparently going hunting and we had big baskets strapped on our backs.

"Hey.", Tatsumi spoke. "It's nice to get away from base for a while, but is this really okay?"

"There is no problem with us going into the mountains.", Akame replied. We kept walking in silence for a while, until the black-haired girl spoke again. "We've arrived."

"Oh wow...", I let out. We were at a small lake. The water was clear and a waterfall was roaring at the other side.

"What a nice place...", Tatsumi agreed.

"We must eliminate the underwater prey.", Akame said. I turned towards her to add something, but what I saw next stopped me in my tracks. Akame was shamelessly removing her top right before our very eyes.

"Wh-What the..!?" I quickly put my hands in front of my eyes by reflex. Why the hell was she...

"These clothes allow the most underwater mobility.", Akame said, not noticing me and Tatsumi's flustered faces. I slowly removed my hands before facepalming. Akame had a swimming suit under her usual clothes... "The targets are large river tuna. That is the goal." With that, the girl jumped into the water, leaving me and Tatsumi to stare at ourselves in silence.

"Huh... She can't possibly mean the exceedingly rare and dangerous fish that-" Before Tatsumi could finish, dozens of large tunas suddenly emerged from the water, raining down on us.

"Holy hell!", I yelled while dodging the storm of fish falling on us.

"Fuh wah...", Akame made when she got out of the water to catch her breath. "Erase your presence and swim along the riverbed.", she then explained, making me shudder a little. "When the prey comes close, you strike that instant. You will need to give it everything you have. Can you handle it, Tatsumi?" Said boy began to smirk and quickly tore of his clothes, leaving himself in his pants.

"Bring it on!", he hollered before jumping into the lake.

"... And me?", I asked, uncomfortable.

"You stay here and put the tunas into the baskets.", Akame replied before diving. After a few moments of silence, I sighed.

"Whew... That was close..."

* * *

"So, in the end Tatsumi only caught two...", the Boss pondered while we ate. "For his first time, he did well."

"But didn't you say 'Bring it on!' as you were undressing?", Leone asked, laughing. Tatsumi just glared at me.

"You just HAD to tell her..." I responded to his question with laughter.

"Not good enough.", Akame stared, irritating Tatsumi even more. Before he could retort, Najenda spoke on a more serious subject.

"Leone... Tell me about the request we received a few days ago." Upon hearing the Boss' demand, the blonde girl took a serious air.

"Our targets are Ogre of the Capital guards, and an oil merchant named Gamal.", she replied. "What the client told me was-"

 _*Flashback*_

 _"Ogre has been accepting bribes from Gamal.", said the poor woman to Leone._

 _"Continue.", the blonde said._

 _"Every time Gamal commits a crime, Ogre will frame someone to take the fall for him. My fiance was framed for one of his crimes and was sentenced to death." Tears started wailing up on the woman's face. "He heard them talking to each other while in his cell. Before his execution, he sent me a letter so I would know all this." She was full-on crying now. "Please... Please, somehow, help me clear this regret from my heart..."_

 _"... Understood." Leone firmly said. "We'll send them both to hell!"_

 _"Thank you so much, Miss!" I can't thank you enough!"_

 _*End Flashback*_

"This is the payment for the job." Leone said, dropping a large sac of coins on the table.

"That person saved up this much money?", Tatsumi asked.

"I caught the scent of a veneral disease from her...", Leone darkly announced. ".. So she must have been selling her body to earn all of that."

"... That's..."

"Did you check out her story?", the Boss asked.

"They're guilty.", Leone replied. "I observed them for a time from the attic of the merchant's shop."

"... Okay. Night Raid will accept this request.", Najenda declared, lighting a cigarette. "We will deliver divine punishment upon the heads of these heinous monsters. And send them to the hereafter."

"Taking out Gamal will be simple," Leone pondered. "... but Ogre will be a formidable opponent. He is called 'The Demon'... because his skill with the sword makes him an object of terror to the criminals of the Capital.", the blonde assassin explained. "Usually, he spends his time out on patrols with his subordinates. But other than that, he hangs out at The Garrison headquarters. Gamal comes to his private room to give him the bribes. Due to his station, on his days off he leaves headquarters and spends the day drinking on Main Street, close to the palace."

"That's gonna be problematic...", I commented.

"It seems the only time to attack would be on his day off.", Tatsumi added, bringing a hand to his chin, pensive.

"... However, the security around the palace will be tough.", Najenda said. "For Akame, who is on the Capital's most wanted list, this will be a dangerous mission."

"Shall we wait for the group to come back?", the black-haired girl asked. Tatsumi sighed.

"But we don't know when they will finish their job, right?" An idea popped into my head when he said. I smirked.

"How'bout you send us?", I exclaimed, gesturing to me and Tatsumi.

"Huh!?", Tatsumi let out in shock.

"Ohhh...? Are you saying you can kill Ogre yourself?", the Boss asked me.

"I am literally the most annoying person to fight.", I laughed. "I'll manage! Oh, and I guess Tatsumi will be here."

"As you are now, you stand no chance.", Akame interjected. "You may be two, but you lack the experience to kill Ogre." I shrugged her answer with a hand.

"Don't worry, Akame.", I smirked. "If big bad Ogre comes out drunk, it'll be easier to kill him."

"Understood...", the Boss nodded. "I can appreciate your decision. Are you alright with this, Tatsumi?", she asked the brown-haired teen.

"... I suppose."

"Alright then. Go kill the Demon.", Najenda finally ordered.

"Well said, Hitomi!", Leone cheered, patting my back. "It's good that you're so dedicated." She leaned close to me. "And Ogre's not really an eye-candy, so have fun with that."

"... Awesome...", I grinned, malicious intents bursting into my head.

"Leone, Akame, I leave the oil merchant to you.", the Boss ordered.

"You got it, Boss.", Leone grinned. Tatsumi also seemed to have regained his determination.

"How about that, Akame! When it's time, I can step up!" He's still wanting to prove himself to her?

"... Where does this self confidence come from?", said girl replied. "You haven't had a successful mission until after you have given your first report. As you are now, so full of yourself, you'll just end up dead. That applies to you too, Hitomi."

"Awww..."


	10. Chapter 9

**Hello everyone! :) As you can see, I'm still alive x) And I have the pleasure of saying that I'm officially done with high school :D I know that it's not everyone who's interested in an author's life, but still!**

 **Anyway, enjoy this chapter! More to come later!**

* * *

 **Soul in the Dream**

 **CHAPTER 9**

(Normal POV)

For their fist mission, Leone had led Tatsumi and Hitomi in the Capital, near a bridge, where they would split up to complete their tasks.

"If you go straight that way, it'll lead you straight to Main Street.", Leone explained.

"Got it!", Tatsumi nodded. Hitomi just smirked and nodded as well. Leone looked at Tatsumi with a somewhat concerned look.

"... You wanna hear a story about Akame?", she asked.

"Huh?"

"Ooh! I wanna!" The lioness sighed, then began her tale.

"When Akame was young, her and her sister were both bought somewhere in the Empire. Well, you know... poor parents selling their kid is a pretty common story." At that moment, Hitomi's smile faded. He didn't know what it was like to have parents like that, but he knew it would be painful. "Anyways, her and another girl in the same situation entered assassination training together.", Leone continued her tale. "There she learned how to kill people... She survived, in that hellish situation. And she worked under the orders of the Empire. She was the perfect assassin..." The two boys listened to her story without interrupting. Even Hitomi was dead serious now. "But, each time she carried out her duty, she could feel more of the darkness within the Empire. "The Boss, who was her target at the time, succeeded in persuading her... to defect from the Empire, and join the Revolutionary Army that cared only about the people. By that time, it seems most of the comrades she had grown up and trained with are dead..."

"... I don't feel like joking about this...", Hitomi said with a sad tone. He then smiled. "I'll just make sure to survive, so she won't have to live through this! Come on, buddy, let's kill an ugly face!", he exclaimed dragging Tatsumi along.

"Good hunting!", Leone wished, back to her cheerful side.

* * *

Elsewhere in the Capital, Gamal was walking towards his chambers. Appearance-wise, someone like Hitomi could only refer to him as a walking tumor. "Hahh,", the merchant sighed. "I need to use the toilet. I wonder if I'll have to take it again."

"Don't worry... I'll give it to you, Gamal.", Leone said from behind him as she grabbed him by the neck.

"Ack!", he made before Akame appeared from the shadows and pierced his heart with her sword. "Gah!", he let out again before dying.

"You're lucky to have been killed by two beauties!", Leone exclaimed, grinning. "Well then... I wonder how the boys are doing with the tougher target..." Akame didn't respond, thinking about the possible outcomes of the boys' first mission.

* * *

Meanwhile, on Main Street, a large muscular man was slowly walking, clearly intoxicated by the alcohol. He had graying black hair, with four ponytails on braids on the back of his head wrapped in white cloth. He had a large star-shaped scar over his missing left eye, while his remaining eye was red with a black sclera. His teeth were also quite sharp. This man was Ogre, also known as the Demon.

"Sake is so good after a thorough interrogation.", he said to himself while blushing due to the alcohol.

"Ogre-sama!" Someone was calling him over.

"Hmm?" Before him stood two shady-looking men.

"We just wanted to congratulate you on a job well done.", one of them said.

"And thank you for the other day.", the other one said, smirking deviously.

"No problem.", Ogre replied, shrugging off the thanks with a hand. "Come to me with whatever troubles you have any time.", he said as he walked away from the smirking men. Ogre then smirked himself. 'I am the king of this city...!, he said in his mind. 'The highest authority. I can do whatever I want, as much as I want!'

"... Uhmm... Ogre-sama.", said a voice behind him.

"What?", the man asked, glancing at the figure, who was Tatsumi draped in a white cloak.

"I have something I would like to speak with you about..."

"What...? Spit it out, then."

"Talking about it in the open like this would be a little problematic..." 'I can't believe I agreed to do this!', Tatsumi cried in his mind.

* * *

(Hitomi's POV)

"Can you tell me in this alleyway?", I heard a gruff say below me. I was standing on one of the various balconies above the alleyway, waiting for our prey. I then saw Tatsumi walking in with an... ugly man behind him, looking impatient. I smirked.

 _'This'll do'_ , I thought, looking each details of his face. _'This is gonna be fun...'_

"Hey. This place is fine, right?", the man, who was probably Ogre, asked Tatsumi. My friend then continued his act and lowly bowed before the older man.

"I beg of you!", he pleaded, on his knees. "Please allow me into the Capital defense force! I must earn enough money to send back to my home in the country, sir!"

"Ha~~hhhh...", Ogre sighed deeply, scratching his head. "I thought it would be something like this. Then apply through the normal process, idiot!", he said before turning his back and walking away. I took this as my signal to attack. I drew my sword and jumped off the balcony.

"Surprise attack!", I yelled while aiming my swing at his neck. However, he was quicker than I thought and rapidly drew his own sword and blocked my attack.

"Who the hell would scream 'Surprise attack!' while assassinating someone..?", Tatsumi deadpanned as I fell beside him with an 'Oof!'

"Did you think... that I, Ogre the Demon... would really be killed by the likes of snot nosed little shits like you...?" ... Yeah, he was mad now... "The weak don't matter... Only the strong matter in this city..." Ogre now started to yell, baring his sharp teeth. "I PASS JUDGEMENT ON PEOPLE! DO YOU THINK YOU CAN JUDGE ME!?"

Silence.

"Huh?", I said, as if breaking from a trance. "Did you say something?", I asked. Ogre didn't say anything, just growled at me, slowly lifting his sword.

"Oh..? So that's how you're gonna be, brat..?", he finally said, smirking in anticipation. I smirked as well.

"We're talking about brats now? Speaking of young people, was it your mom or dad who beat you up when you were a kid?", I asked him, still smirking. Ogre looked confused by my question, but still kept up his guard.

"Huh..? What do you mean..?"

"I mean, one of them gave you that black eye, right?", I said matter-of-factly, pointing to his right eye, which literally had a black sclera. That seemed to anger him, but he controlled himself, much to my chagrin.

"Oh.. A funny one, I see...", Ogre growled. "You won't be like that for long!", he barked, charging at us, intent on killing us on the spot. I managed to get up and prepared myself to block, but Tatsumi quickly got between me and Ogre to intercept the hit. "HAHH!", Ogre yelled when the blades clashed. I was surprised when the ground below them caved in, overwhelmed by the Demon's strength.

"Holy hell...", I muttered at my enemy's display of power.

"I see..." Ogre said as he looked Tatsumi in the eyes. "You belong to that Night Raid group, don't you?"

"No shit, Black-eye.", I deadpanned. "Give him a medal, Tatsumi."

"Now's not the time, Hitomi!"

"So I was right...", Ogre pondered. "Who hired you to kill me? You happen to know a lot about me..." He then seemed to realise. "Was it possibly the bitch fiancé of the guy who was executed the other day?" Oh-oh... "I'm right, aren't I...?", he asked when he saw my reaction. "I knew it would have been best to kill her as well... No... It's still not too late to kill her!" He lifted his eye to the sky as he thought about the perfect plan. "First, I'll have to find her, of course. And then, I'll find the rest of her family, and arrest them as criminals. And then I'll force her to watch as they are executed, one by one...! But only after I've killed you!", he roared, glaring at Tatsumi, who was starting to struggle keeping Ogre's sword away from him.

"Yeah, how about no?", I asked from behind him.

"Whaa-!", he didn't have time to finish as I drove my blade in his neck, the tip appearing on the other side. While he was talking and bragging about his future plans, I sneaked my way behind him before he could notice.

* * *

"You sure about that?", Tatsumi asked. We were at my house's door front, the letter for my parents in hand.

"Of course I am.", I smiled. "It's for the best. They'll understand." I slipped the piece of paper under the door before turning to my friend. "Alright, I'm done here. Let's go brag, now!"

* * *

Good job on dealing with the target!", the Boss praised after we finished our report. "Excellent!"

"Thanks!", me and Tatsumi said, pleased with ourselves.

"Although...", the Boss glared at me, making me shiver. "Refrain from doing any more 'surprise attacks'. It could've cost you your life." I shrugged.

"Meh, I'm not hurt as you can see, so- Hey what the..!", I exclaimed as I felt two hands stripping me of my jacket and proceeding to take my shirt.

"Leone, Boss, take care of Tatsumi!", Akame ordered, my clothes in her hands.

"Understood." "Oh! This seems like fun.", they replied before grabbing my friend and stripping him.

"Wh... What's going on...?", Tatsumi stammered. "You can't possibly be wanting to have...!"

"Noooo!", I yelled as my pants went down. "I'm too young for thiiiis!"

"Thank goodness...", Akame said, surprising us.

"Huh?" We looked up and saw our normally stoic black-haired friend smiling brightly, with a relieved look.

"I've seen friends die from poison because they wanted to be tough and not report the wound.", Akame explained. "But you two seemed to be undamaged." She extended her hand for us to shake. "The mortality rate for those on their first mission is high... You did very well!", she concluded as she shook our hands.

"Th... Thanks.", Tatsumi said, not really sure what to add.

"Akame was hoping you two would live.", Leone added. "She would have been lonely without at least one of you."

"You know, you learn to communicate with your comrades while cooking.", the Boss said, ignoring the 'I didn't cook!' I added. "You learn to kill through a difficult hunt... Did you notice that everything you did in those days was beneficial to you?"

"Eh... Oh... Really?", Tatsumi asked, a little embarrassed. "Sorry, Akame... I... misunderstood."

"It's all right.", said girl replied. "From here on, please continue coming back alive... Tatsumi, Hitomi."

"Sure.", Tatsumi nodded.

"That won't be a problem.", I nodded, smirking.

"Please take care of us, Akame!", Tatsumi added.

"I wonder what his intentions are saying that while almost naked!", Leone chortled, looking as me and Tatsumi were, indeed, almost naked while close to Akame. I sighed.

"You guys are the ones who stripped us!", Tatsumi retorted.

"... Okay.", the Boss ignored our quibble and pondered on something. "Next, you'll be working under Mine, you two,", the Boss addressed us. "so do your best."

"... Geh?", Tatsumi made when he heard Mine's name. Oh, right, he doesn't like her at all...

"It's just one thing after another, isn't it?", Leone commented, fully knowing about Tatsumi's thoughts towards the pink-haired girl.

"I... have to work with her!?"

"I don't see the problem.", I shrugged.

* * *

Elsewhere, the team that went on a mission were coming back after their target was no more.

"For some reason I just got goose bumps...", Mine, who was in front, said suddenly.

* * *

 **Akame's backstory, a tumor getting killed, another ugly guy getting killed and the boys nearly getting raped! What more do you want for action? :P**

 **Next time, shopping with Mine!**


	11. Chapter 10

**Hey guys! I just want to say that I'm alive and stuff... I honestly don't have a reason for my rare posts so... yeah. To make up for it, I'll try to post another chapter tomorrow ^^ In the mean time, enjoy a little shopping in the Capital :P**

* * *

 **Soul in the Dream**

 **CHAPTER 10**

(Normal POV)

"Finally in the Capital.", Tatsumi said, eyeing around. The brown-haired boy, along with Hitomi, was walking in the big city with Mine as their supervisor. "But now that I get a good look, there are a lot of people with sour looks on their faces, huh?", the brunette added.

"No wonder if they are under a reign of terror, and there's a recession.", Mine replied. Hitomi nodded in agreement. Even though he didn't live like these people, he could see the same face on his parents' every day, even though they did their best to hide it from his view...

"Is it okay for us to walk around in broad daylight so openly?", Tatsumi asked, changing the subject.

"Huh, well... the only ones with wanted posters are those four." Mine pointed to a nearby wall with said posters attached on it. They depicted Akame, Sheele, the Boss and some strong-looking guy in the center.

"Eh? Who is that in the middle?", Tatsumi asked.

"Bulat.", Mine replied, surprising the boys.

"Wait, what...?", Hitomi mumbled, dumbfounded by the change. On the poster, Bulat's hair wasn't in its usual pompadour like the boys were used to. The man's black hair was kept down, looking like... normal hair.

"He's changed his image since joining Night Raid.", Mine added.

"Isn't that too much of a change!?", Tatsumi exclaimed, while the image of Bulat's newer style came into his head.

"Now that that's cleared,", Mine said. "we have a mission to complete."

"... We do?", Hitomi asked, raising an eyebrow.

"That's the reason you brought us along, isn't it?", Tatsumi said, clenching his fist in anticipation.

"Alright!", Mine beamed, raising a fist in the air. "Let's start with the inspection of the city's condition!"

"I don't know what this is about but yeah!", Tatsumi shouted in his turn, copying Mine and raising a fist above his head. Hitomi sighed then smiled, having a good idea on what Mine meant as 'inspecting the city'.

* * *

As Hitomi had thought, the rest of the day was spent going in various shops for the sole purpose of satisfying Mine's huge obsession for shopping. One of the most notable trip was when the pinkette dragged the boys into a lingerie shop. While she was checking a bra set, Hitomi recklessly said that her breasts were too small to be able to fit in it, earning him a big 'bonk!' on the head by an angry Mine. On the next stop, the blonde comically tried to redeem himself by showering the pinkette with compliments each time she tried a different dress.

After their trip was over, the group of three finally settled down on a terrace. The boys were sipping on a glass of water each while Mine enjoyed a huge parfait. "Phew, we bought a lot.", Mine concluded. "As expected, pink clothing is the trend in spring."

"I guess.", Tatsumi said without emotion. The shopping day completely devoided him of life. He even looked skinnier...

"It's good to let your hair down on your days off, huh?", Mine added, ignoring Tatsumi's current state.

"I guess."

"Okay, mission complete!", the pinkette exclaimed cheerfully after a bite from her parfait.

"This isn't a mission, this is just shopping!" Hitomi chuckled after Tatsumi finished his tantrum.

"Hehe, buddy, what we have in front of us is a girl.", the blonde said matter-of-factly, raising a finger in the air. "A dominant trait shared by these mysterious creatures are their love for shopping. While in school, I did some research and still haven't-"

*THWACK*

"Don't get ahead of yourself.", Mine said, wiping a small trace of blood from her knuckles. "Another comment and your balls will be next, am I clear?"

"... Crystal...", Hitomi weakly said while raising a thumb in acknowledgement. Tatsumi sighed at his friend's absurd forwardness. Suddenly, what seemed like people talking grabbed his attention.

"What's all the commotion...?", he asked as he got up from his seat.

"Probably the public execution of someone who defied the Empire.", Mine explained with disgust as she watched the scene before them. Five people, with some missing body parts, were crucified on wooden crosses with big iron nails. The worst was that they were still alive. "That's a usual thing in the Capital.", the pinkette added.

"H-How... cruel...", Tatsumi let out, dumbfounded that the Emperor would allow such a thing to happen. He felt a hand gently press against his shoulder.

"We can't do anything for now.", Hitomi calmly said, the change in demeanor surprising Tatsumi even more. "But once we get rid of the Prime Minister, I'm telling you, it WILL get better.", the blonde finished with a smirk.

"I won't be like them.", Hitomi heard Mine say.

"Hmm? What'cha said, Pinks?"

"I'll definitely live... and see this fight to the end!"

"Heh, of course you will! I'm here-"

*THWACK*

"No one asked you, newbie!"

"Owww ... I'll need a blood transfusion after this..."

* * *

Far from the trio, inside the Emperor's palace, more specifically, the throne room, a man bowed down in front of the Emperor. The monarch was a young boy, probably around 12 years old. He had green shoulder-lenght hair braided on the sides and green eyes. His garment consisted of a purple outfit with white boots and a blue mantle, as well as a large headdress. In his hand rested a golden scepter with a blue orb attached to it.

"Internal affairs officer Shoui.", the Emperor addressed the man on his knees. "Thou objected our political measures.", he said in an imperial tone. "For the sin of delaying our political affairs, we sentence thee to death by dismemberment by bulls." The man, Shoui, was visibly shocked of receiving the death penalty for a small mistake. "Is this good, Minister?", the young monarch asked someone beside the throne. He was a large, tall man with amber eyes and long grey hair and beard, as well as a mustache. He wore a grey jacket with a brown belt, green pants and brown boots, with a white coat on top. He had several rings on his fingers and wore a crown with three horn-like decorations.

"Nuhuhu, well done.", he said, chewing on a piece of meat. "Emperor Makoto is such a wise ruler."

"Meat again?", the Emperor asked with a sweatdrop. "Thou eatest a lot of that."

"Fufufu, one got to enjoy life while it's good."

" **ENOUGH!** ", the man, Shoui, roared in anger. "The Emperor is being fooled by the Prime Minister! Please listen to the voices of your people!"

"He is accusing you.", the young monarch stated.

"Have his rumblings confused you, my Lord?", the Minister asked with a laugh.

"Of course not, for the words thou hast spoken have always been right since long ago!"

"Shoui-dono.", the Minister addressed the man. "Seems this will be our final partings." With these words, the guards positioned beside him crossed their spears in front of his chest, as they slowly dragged the man towards the palace's exit.

"Your Majesty!", Shoui implored. "If this continues, the thousand year history of the Empire will end!"

"Shoui-dono.", the Minister interrupted, crouching to be face to face with Shoui. "Please don't worry about that lovely wife you're leaving behind. You just leave her to me. I'll make sure to take care of her. Every single part of her... nuhuhuhu."

 _'How...'_ , Shoui yelled in his mind. _'How is it... possible for something like this to be allowed! Sins must be punished... Someone, anyone... please! Deliver justice upon this demon!'_

* * *

 **Well, until next time everyone ^^ Oh, and please review if you have the time! :O If nobody's reviewing, I have no idea if people actually like what I'm writing, y'know? :P**


	12. Chapter 11

**Here you go! ^^ The promised second chapter :P I don't really have anything else to say, so enjoy!**

* * *

 **Soul in the Dream**

 **CHAPTER 11**

(Hitomi's POV)

"You guys, there's a new request.", the Boss had said earlier. "The target this time is a blood relative of the Prime Minister. A man named Iokal. Using the Minister's name, he abducts girls from the Capital and beats them to death.", she had explained. "His five bodyguards also share his guilt in this. This is an important mission. Everybody will attack!"

* * *

"That's the mansion Iokal lives in...", Tatsumi stated, looking at said mansion with binoculars. Us two and Mine were sitting in a tree facing the mansion. "It's security seems to be great."

"I won't be able to hit him at this distance.", Mine said, preparing her gun. "I'll have to wait until he comes out of the compound to strike."

"And then it's my turn after the shooting, right?", Tatsumi asked, pumped. "Leave it to me!"

"Hey, you forgot to include me...", I pouted comically.

"Hmpf.", Mine huffed. "Still, don't get your hopes up." She then locked her eyes to the mansion's entrance, where Iokal would come out. She looked extremely concentrated. I was tempted to put a hand in front of her eyes to see her reaction, but I refrained. I did want to live another day. That loli hits hard...

"He's come out.", the pink-haired girl said after a moment of observation. Tatsumi looked over with the binoculars and confirmed.

"Ahh... You can't attack now, a lot of people came out with him!", he said.

"So what?"

"What do you mean... How are you gonna snipe him?", he asked, unsure.

"It doesn't matter."

"Wait.", I interjected, raising a hand, not that she'll notice it anyway... "Did my stupid, irritable, annoying and unpleasant personality finally sucked all your sanity points away!? You're gonna kill the others if you go for collateral damage." Honestly, I would've loved to see that mansion explode, but losing innocent lives are a big no.

Mine ignored my comment and fired. Me and Tatsumi were expecting a big blast, but instead, a thin, yellow bullet-like laser shot from her weapon, whistling through the air towards the mansion. Before Iokal could notice, the tiny beam passed right through his head, while passing between each girl surrounding him, not harming anyone else.

"Holy hell!", I exclaimed, dumbfounded. "... I have no idea what to say to that..."

"You know, I'm a genius sniper.", Mine boasted, making me sweatdrop.

"Hey, hey... Only I can brag..."

* * *

(Normal POV)

Upon witnessing their master's death, Iokal's bodyguards went after the attackers, determined on putting them down. "Catch the assassins, no matter what it takes!", yelled one of them. "If we allow them to escape, the Prime Minister will kill us himself!"

"They shouldn't have gotten far...", another one said, looking around. The men's search was interrupted by the sound of people landing on the ground. They turned around to see Sheele, Akame, Leone, Bulat and Lubbock standing before them.

"Well, well.", Leone grinned. "Now then. Let's go wild!", she exclaimed.

* * *

After their job was done, Mine and the two boys went towards Night Raid's meeting point by passing through the forest.

"Ahhhh, geez!", Mine let out. She missed a step and nearly fell down. "These roots are hard to walk on...", she sighed.

"Want me to carry you?", Hitomi grinned, wiggling his eyebrows comically.

"In your dreams, idiot."

"Why so mean...?", the blonde pouted, looking away in false sorrow.

"Hey, Mine.", Tatsumi grabbed the pinkette's attention. "Do you think our pursuers have all been taken out already?"

"Those enemies were trained at koukenji.", she replied. "They may not be taken out so easily. It's the best martial arts temple in the Empire. If you're a relative of the Minister, the grade of your bodyguards goes up. Doing whatever he wants using his relative's name for cover... is the type of thing I hate the most.", she spat. Tatsumi looked at her with curiosity.

 _'Has something like that happened in her past...?'_

"Ok, ok. As a special service, I'll tell you a story from my past."

 _'I haven't even asked!'_

"Ooh, story time!", Hitomi cheered.

"I was born and raised on the western border of the Empire.", Mine started her tale. "And half of my blood is foreign."

Hitomi's smile faded. _'Oh-oh, I don't like the sound of that...'_

"I was mercilesly ridiculed.", the pinkette continued. "Nobody accepted me. My childhood was made of misery."

Hitomi's fading smile quickly turned into one of his rare, genuine frowns. _'Why does everyone had a miserable life while I had a life of luxury...?'_ , he asked himself.

"But, you know..." The pink-haired teen turned towards the two boys. "The Revolutionary Army formed an alliance with the people of the west. If we made a new country, diplomatic relations would grow, many races would mingle, and there will be no more kids who will suffer like me... Never again, will I let there be any form of discrimination...!"

 _'I understand now...',_ Hitomi thought, recalling when Akame told him not to make racist comments near Mine. He sighed, but regained a smile. He had a lot of respect for people who managed to live through humiliation and intimidation, and Mine was no different. However, that wouldn't stop him from being an idiot in front of her.

"Mine..." Tatsumi was visibly touched by the pinkette's story. But...

"And as someone who had so much to do with the Revolution, I'll get a giant reward and live like a celebrity!", Mine finished with loud laughs. Tatsumi was without word concerning the last comment while Hitomi laughed with her, complimenting her nice plans for the future. Although it was clear that he tried to diverge the subject away from Mine's past... The brunette noticed this and smiled at Hitomi's way of changing the subject.

* * *

"A~hah. I feel so refreshed~", Leone said after she killed the last bodyguard who was standing.

"They were quite strong, weren't they?", Sheele panted, wiping a little sweat from her forehead.

"... Strange.", Akame pondered. "There should have been five bodyguards..." Indeed, before the group of assassins was four bodies instead of five.

"I didn't even get to kill one of them, too.", Lubbock pouted, which made Leone laugh.

"Haha, you remind me of Hitomi when I first met him.", she grinned. When the green-haired teen gave her a puzzled look, she continued. "When Tatsumi killed the target, Hitomi was actually sad because he didn't have the kill."

"Really!? He didn't even killed before..."

"I know, right! He's a natural, I tell you! Just wait until he finally build some muscle!"

While Leone was praising the blonde newbie, Akame was still thinking about the missing bodyguard. A thought occurred to her, and she looked in the distance, praying that Mine and the two boys would be alright.

* * *

"We're almost at the meeting place.", Mine said as the group approached a lone tree on top of a hill. "That means mission accomplished!"

"You're still on mission until the minute you give your report!", Tatsumi said, recalling a certain black-haired girl's words.

"Hmph.", Mine did a small smile. "Those are Akame's words, right?" Before he could reply, he saw a figure jumping behind Mine, fist raised. He knew it wasn't Hitomi, so he jumped towards Mine to push her out of the way.

"Watch out!", he yelled as he pushed the pinkette away. With Mine out of the way, the figure punched Tatsumi right on the jaw, sending him flying a few meters away.

"Holy hell!" Hitomi quickly rushed beside Mine, readying his sword. That guys was strong, and he knew it.

"My skills surely have dulled.", the man said, cracking his fingers.

"It can't be...", Hitomi glared at the man. "You're one of those who keep bragging about their skills, those who are too full of themselves..."

"Like you're one to talk!", Mine yelled at the blonde, readying her gun and aiming their assailant. "Anyway, let's take you down a peg!" She fired at the man, but he surprisingly dodged the bullet. Frustrated, Mine shot two, three, four more times, without success. "No way...!" The pinkette was genuinely surprised that someone was able to dodge close range gun shots.

"Time to get rid of evil!", the man chuckled while approaching Mine. "I'll be delivering you to the Minister alive. I hope you're prepared!"

"Wowowow!", Hitomi said, getting between Mine and the man. "You do realise that the way you said that made it look completely wrong, right...?", he asked.

"Oh? Care to correct me, then?"

"Yeah, sure.", the young assassin said, his voice sounding serious. "That girl is not yours or the Minister's! She's MINE!", he yelled, earning a puzzled look from the man. He then quickly turned his head towards the pink-haired girl with a grin on his face. "Get it? You're mine and your name is Mine... hehehe..."

"You have got to be kidding me...", the girl sighed in exasperation. "Why the heck did the Boss accept you!?", she yelled-asked the blonde, who was laughing, much to the confusion of their opponent.

"Skill.", Hitomi replied, wriggling his eyebrows. He then looked back at the man in front of them. "And my ability to easily buy time.", he added. The man looked confused but instantly regretted his choice to remain still as he felt a pair of arms wrapping his torso from behind.

"This little...", the man let out. He completely forgot about Tatsumi, whom he thought was unconscious. _'That blonde brat was just buying time so he could get up and catch me... Damn!'_

"Now, Mine!", Tatsumi yelled. "Shoot!"

"Tatsumi...", Mine softly said. "To give your life for me..."

"I'm not sacrificing myself, you moron!" "Just shoot'em already!", Tatsumi and Hitomi said simultaneously.

"You're a genius sniper, aren't you?", the brunette added with a smirk. "I've bet on you!"

"Shit! Let... go! Hurry!", the ensnared man was clearly panicking, rapidly hitting Tatsumi on the back of the head. The teen was clearly in pain, but he didn't let go.

"You know, Pinks.", Hitomi addressed Mine. "If you don't hurry up, I'll shoot for you." He smirked. "Knowing my skill with guns, I'll find a way to miss the big guy and hit Tatsumi."

"Yeah, yeah.", Mine sighed, readying her weapon. "I'll do as you like!", she said, charging up the bullet.

"W... Wait a sec!", the man went wide-eyed when he saw the gun pointed at him. He couldn't dodge, so he knew that he would die. " **GAAHHHH!** ", he yelled when the bullet passed through him. "Guh... Ahh... You guys... Since you laid hands on a relative of the Minister... Don't think this is over...!"

"This is so cliché...", Hitomi sighed when the man died. "I mean, seriously, why the hell would he say that...?"

Mine ignored him and went to Tatsumi. "Seems like you have a little bit of courage.", she told him. "I can't help but to be a little impressed by-" She got interrupted when Tatsumi flicked her forehead.

"Say what you want, that shot was far too close...", he said. "My head almost turned into smoke there!", he yelled, pointing to the top of his head. A few hairs were missing and a thick smoke was coming out of the burnt parts.

"Pffffff hahahaha! This is just too good!", Hitomi laughed, leaning on the tree for support.

"What's up with you?!", Mine asked Tatsumi. "I was finally willing to accept you!"

"Shut up!", Tatsumi retorted, angry. "You're not a genius sniper! You're stuck somewhere on the student level!"

"What!? Of course I'm a genius!"

"And by the way, geniuses wouldn't call themselves a genius! Hitomi, help me on this one!"

"What!? No way! I'd rather side with Mine and laugh at you, Burny!"

"Seems like it would've been fine even if we didn't run here.", Leone laughed when she and the rest of Night Raid came to the scene.

* * *

Elsewhere, in the Capital, a duo of guards were running, presumably looking for something.

"We must find Ogre-sama's murderer no matter what!", the guard in front ordered the man behind him.

"Understood!" When the two men passed by an alleyway, they saw a rather large man looking at the Night Raid wanted posters.

"The same as me... A Teigu user... An assassin...", he muttered under his breath. He smiled, showing all his teeth. "Happy, happy. Can I go all out here?"

"Hey, you over there!", the first guard yelled, pointing at the mysterious person. "You look suspicious! Don't move from there!"

The man ignored the guard's order and walked towards the other two. Before they had time to react, their heads flew right off their bodies.

"It seems like..." The large man grinned, sheathing his blades. "the Capital is the perfect place to live. I kill and kill and there is always more... happy, happy..."

* * *

 **Ooooohhh... Who could this man be...?**


	13. Chapter 12

**Hello guys! ^^ Back with another chapter for you! And don't worry, after the Zank part, Hitomi'll be less of a 'supportive character' like he is now :/**

 **In any case, enjoy! ^^**

* * *

 **Soul in the Dream**

 **CHAPTER 12**

(Normal POV)

"Please... please don't kill me!", a woman whimpered, looking at her left, where rested the beheaded body of her boyfriend. She was being held by her neck by a large blonde man. He wore a headpiece resembling headphones and another headpiece on his forehead that resembled a closed eye.

"Oh, come now.", the man whispered. "It's your own fault for walking around at this time of night. Didn't your parents warn you about the scary monsters that come out after dark?", he asked.

"I'll do anything!", the girl begged, tears pouring out of her eyes.

"Really? You would be willing to do anything I asked?"

"Yes! I will ! I'll do it, so please!"

"And what if I told you I want to see your head separated from your body?", the blonde man grimly asked. "Would you be willing then?"

"... Huh...?", the woman said before she felt a sharp pain at her neck.

"Mmmmm... happy, happy.", the man muttered as the woman's body fell on the ground. "I just can't stop doing this."

* * *

(Hitomi's POV)

It has been a little more than a week since I've joined Night Raid with Tatsumi. Honestly, it felt good to be part of a group like that. Friends all over the place and I could put my fighting skills to use. Oh, and girls everywhere. Seriously... we have 4 guys for 5 girls. That's pretty good.

Right now, I was eating a cereal bowl for breakfast. Lubbock was seated beside me, eating toasts. We were having a very important boy talk.

"What! You saw Mine in her underwears!", Lubbock shouted, apparently not caring if we got caught talking about this.

"Hey, hey! Don't jump to conclusions, man!", I quickly shushed him. "She dragged us in a lingerie shop and was messing around with bras and stuff. As for the rest, it's up to the imagination.", I grinned, poking my forehead to emphasise.

"You lucky bastard... going to a lingerie shop with a girl...", Lubbock sighed, jealous. At that moment, Leone entered the room.

"Hey guys~ What'cha talking about?", she asked with a friendly grin.

"Oh, nothing much.", Lubbock said, shrugging away the question with his hand.

"He's picturing Mine in her underwears.", I grinned.

"Hey! That is NOT true and you know it!"

"Why Mine, Lubbo?", Leone asked with a smirk. "She's so small... Anyway, you'll continue this another time. The Boss wants us all to come in the meeting room."

"Can I at least finish my cereal bowl? Breakfast is important.", I tried giving my gentlest smile at the lioness.

"No time, it's for a contract. You'll finish it later." God damn it.

"Fuck it, I'll just bring it with me.", I said, grabbing my cereal bowl and heading towards the meeting room, followed by Leone and Lubbock.

* * *

"Hey, Boss. What's up?", I addressed Najenda, munching my cereals.

"We have a new target, Hitomi.", she replied. She was sitting on her chair as usual. It's like her 'meeting chair'. I want one...

"Oooh, so what is it this time?", I asked, happy to go out a bit. "A corrupted government member? A serial killer? A rapist? My grandmother?"

"Why would we kill your grandmother?", Tatsumi sweatdropped.

"We can't. She's already dead."

"Oh..."

"Returning to the matter at hand, your second guess is correct.", Najenda nodded. "The target is the rumored serial killer that is plaguing the Capital. Late at night, he suddenly appears and chops off the victim's head.", she explained. "It's unknown how many dozens of people he has killed so far."

"Is he the guy that killed these Imperial guards the other day?", I asked. She nodded, confirming my thoughts. "I think I know who it is...", I pondered.

"There's no mistake, it has to be Zank the Executioner.", Lubbock spoke. I nodded in confirmation. I remember having a class about him back when I attended school. He's no pushover.

"Who's that?", Tatsumi asked.

"You don't know?", Mine asked with a teasing tone. "You really are a country bumpkin, huh?"

"Pardon me,", Sheele spoke. "but I don't know either."

"I think you've just forgotten, Sheele..."

"So, what kind of monster is he?", Tatsumi asked again.

"Zank the Executioner.", Mine cut the teasing tone and explained. "He originally worked at the Empire's greatest prison as their executioner. Because of the Prime Minister, there were many people to be executed."

"In short.", I cut, still munching on my cereals. "He cut so many heads that he went completely loco and was beginning to enjoy killing random sentenced people. Is that right?"

"Yeah.", Mine nodded. "Executing prisoners started not to be enough for him, so he became a serial killer."

"He disappeared right around the time that a detainment force was sent out to find him...", Bulat added. "Who knew he would head to the Capital?"

"What a horrible guy!", Tatsumi exclaimed, pumping his fist. "We need to find and beat his ass!"

"Hold your horses, Tatsumi.", Bulat put his hand on the brunette's head.

"... Bro?"

"Zank stole the warden's Teigu before leaving. And from then on became a serial killer." The black-haired man then switched the position of his hand to hold Tatsumi's chin... in a completely suggestive manner... "If you ran into him without your partner... you'd be in big trouble."

 _'Just enjoy it, Tatsumi.'_ , I chuckled in my mind as I saw my friend's face, who was trying to find a way out of Bulat's 'friendly demeanor'.

* * *

A few hours later, Night Raid split itself into groups to search the Capital for Zank. For this mission, I was paired up with Tatsumi and Akame.

"Our search area is down this way.", the raven-haired girl announced after looking at a small map.

"Seems like the people of the Capital are too scared of the killer to come out at night anymore, huh.", Tatsumi noted, taking a look around us. Indeed, the roads were empty and everyone was probably asleep in the safety of their home.

"Well, being killed doesn't look like fun.", I added, putting my hands behind my head. "... I suddenly feel bad for those I've ki-" I got interrupted by Akame's gauntlet going over my mouth, preventing me from talking. She quickly dragged me in an alleyway, followed by Tatsumi. A moment after, a group of guards passed in the road we were in before, their footsteps resonating.

"It's the Imperial guards.", Akame muttered. "Even they are worked up about this. We need to be careful." I nodded and she released me.

"Can I ask you something before we start searching?", Tatsumi said.

"Don't worry.", Akame did a thumb up. "I brought snacks."

"Heh, a pro never forgets her snacks.", I smirked.

"It's not what I meant...", Tatsumi sweatdropped. "Those 'Teigu' things Bro talked about. What are they?", he asked.

Akame pondered for a moment. "Things like this.", she replied, holding off her katana.

"I still don't get it..."

We paused and our black-haired friend took a snack from a pouch located on her skirt. After taking a bite, she started her explanation.

"About 1000 years ago, after the Great Empire was created, the Emperor began to worry..."

 _'I wish to protect this country forever, but I know I will someday die.'_ , the Emperor had said. _'But... With weapons and armor... even in the far future the Empire would endure... To insure our country lasts forever, we will concentrate all knowledge and create weapons!'_

"Legend says that they gathered materials from the most dangerous of legendary class creatures. Such as the ultra rare metal orichalcum.", Akame continued. "The greatest scientific minds were gathered from all over the world. With the Emperor's absolute power and limitless fortune, they accomplished something that would be impossible for the people of the current era. They created 48 deadly weapons, called the 'Teigu'. The abilities of the Teigu were stronger than anything else. Each one holds the power to create a great warrior. It's said that the Emperor's retainers who the Teigu were given to were given most of the spoils of battle during this time. But because of the huge civil war that broke out over 500 years ago, close to half of the Teigu were lost in battle."

"Huh... I feel jealous not having one...", I pouted after our raven-haired comrade finished her tale.

"... What you're saying,", Tatsumi started. "is that everyone has one of these Teigu weapons, right?"

"Yes.", Akame replied with a nod. "Everyone but the Boss. But with such strong abilities built into the Teigu, there has always been one 'iron rule' while using them. If two Teigu users with intent to kill clash, without fail, one of them will be a victim. In other words, if two Teigu users fight, only one will survive."

"That's oddly specific...", I muttered.

"Our target, Zank, has a Teigu.", Akame continued, ignoring me once again, not that I mind anyway. "Even if you both strike at the same time in an encounter, the possibility that you will live is zero."

"Then why did you brought us with you if we can't do anything?", I asked with an eyebrow raised. "I mean, fighting a Teigu user seems like fun, but I want to live, y'know..?"

"The Boss ordered you to go.", she plainly said, making me sweatdrop.

"Yeah... of course..."

* * *

(Normal POV)

Far away from the trio, Zank the Executioner was perched atop a building, somehow being able to see the assassins who are after him.

"Hnnnn... In addition to serial killers, now professional killers show up.", he spoke. "My, what a dangerous city this is... so happy, so happy~ ... Okay then... Which neck should I go after first?", he asked himself, looking at each spread out Night Raid members. He locked his view when his eyes stopped at Akame's group. "... It's decided!", he concluded after watching Tatsumi. "The most delicious fruits are the ones that are just about to ripe.", he said before jumping into the city, decided on his new prey.

* * *

 **In case you didn't notice, I skipped the part when we learn about everyone's Teigu. It just isn't relevant for now so let's just assume the boys learned about their abilities offscreen ^^' Until then, have a good day :P**


	14. Chapter 13

_This chapter is sponsored by Zank the Executioner._

* * *

 **Hello guys! :) I'm back with another chapter! I don't really have anything important to say, so let us skip right ahead! Enjoy!**

* * *

 **Soul in the Dream**

 **CHAPTER 13**

(Normal POV)

After an hour of patrolling without success, Akame, Tatsumi and Hitomi decided to take a break. They sat on a nearby bench and began to eat and drink some of the snacks Akame brought with her.

"I don't think he's coming tonight, how about you?", Tatsumi asked his comrades.

"I dunno...", Hitomi smirked. "I mean, we are three defenseless teenagers, right? The perfect targets for a madman."

"I don't think our weapons can convince someone we're defenseless...", the brunette deadpanned.

"Oh, come one, don't be like that.", the blonde pouted.

"Either way, we have no choice but to wait patiently, right?", Akame added.

"You guys are no fun...", Hitomi sighed.

"... Excuse me for a minute.", Tatsumi said, putting his drink down. He rose from his seat in the direction of a nearby alleyway.

"Taking a piss, huh?", Akame noticed, making the boys sweatdrop at her forwardness.

* * *

(Hitomi's POV)

Not really having anything good to say, I munched on my snack as I sat beside Akame, waiting for Tatsumi to renew his kidneys. However, after two or three minutes, I began to wonder why it was taking so long. Being a guy myself, I knew from experience that taking a leak took less than a minute. Normally, at least...

"Be right back.", I told Akame as I got up. "I'm going to check if he somehow drowned himself." She nodded without a word and I made my way to the alleyway Tatsumi went to. But when I approached, I heard Tatsumi say 'Wait!' and then heard footsteps running away from here. I quickly made my way to where Tatsumi was, and saw him running off in another direction. I wanted to go alert Akame about this, but...

 _'I don't have time!'_ , I thought, bolting after my brown-haired friend. _'If it's Zank, he's in big trouble!'_

After a bit of running, I finally caught up to him and...

"What the fuck are you doing...?", I deadpanned. Tatsumi was hugging a tall, strong-looking man like if he just met a friend for the first time in years.

"How passionate.", the man said with a smile, showing off his white teeth. "It seems I showed you something nice..."

"Huh?!", Tatsumi, surprised by the man's tone of voice and tilted his head, facing the mysterious man's.

"Good evening.", the tall man greeted.

"UWAHH!", Tatsumi yelled, quickly getting away from the man. "Sayo turned into a strange old guy!"

 _'Isn't Sayo dead?'_ , I thought. Of course, I didn't say it out loud. I'm not that evil. "Welcome back to reality.", I smirked. "How was your trip?"

"Not now, Hitomi!", my friend said, recomposing himself. "I got a bad feeling about this guy."

"Your hunch would be right.", the man said with an ominous smile. "Rather than calling me 'old guy', I would prefer..." While speaking, two big blades sprouted off his sleeves. "that you affectionately call me Zank the Executioner!"

"Oh-oh... shit's gonna get real...", I muttered, reaching for my sword.

"You've been separated... If you wait, she'll eventually show up...", Zank said, pointing one of his blades at Tatsumi. "But will you live long enough for that to happen...? Is what you are thinking, right?"

 _'What the...'_ , I thought, confused. I then noticed that between his two crest-looking patches of hair was situated a sort of green eye... _'Wait... can he read our minds with that? Is that a Teigu?'_

"Bingo!", Zank suddenly exclaimed, seemingly happy that I figured it out. "Teigu 'Spectator'.", he introduced. "One of it's five sight abilities, 'Insight'. I can read your thoughts by seeing your facial expressions, body languages, and stuff like that. Think of it as an extreme form of observation."

"Holy. Hell.", I slowly said. "This is awesome!", I exclaimed, surprising Tatsumi with my burst of enthousiasm. "What more can it do!?", I asked Zank.

"Oh, are you perhaps interested in my Teigu?", Zank smirked.

"Information is key, right?", I smirked as well. Tatsumi tried to talk me out of conversing with the target, but I couldn't help myself. I liked what I saw... no pun intended...

"Finally someone willing to talk with me.", Zank said. "You see, talking is one of my hobbies."

"An underrated but fun hobby if I do say so myself.", I agreed, nodding my head.

"Stop talking with him! He's the target!"

"I'm starting to like you more and more, assassin.", the Executioner continued. "Very well, I'll inform you about the magnificent things my Spectator can do!" I smiled and braced myself for the flow of information. "I already told you about my 'Insight' ability, so I'll go directly to the next one."

"Go ahead, I'm listening."

"I don't even want to hear it!", Tatsumi shouted, running towards Zank to attack him.

"Oh, I don't mind.", the target said while avoiding his strike. He then turned his head towards me as he explained his Teigu's second ability. "The power I used to find you was 'Farsight'. Whether it's night, or foggy, I can see you clear as day!" He stopped talking when he blocked one of Tatsumi's strikes. "So happy! You figured you would try something because I was talking to your friend?", he asked Tatsumi. "Useless. Completely.", the Executioner stated as he pointed to his Teigu on his forehead. "Because I can see everything going on in your head. You step into my space and attack with a slash from above, and try to end it with an upswing of the blade to my midsection...", Zank continued, dodging or blocking each of Tatsumi's strikes. "Which is... a feint...", he said, suddenly ducking to avoid yet another strike. "... to leave me open for your thrust to my windpipe."

 _'Okay, it's getting pretty bad now...'_ , I thought, unsheathing my sword. _'Time to kill Zank-sensei.'_

"So... is that what you were thinking?", Zank asked, a wicked grin on his face. He was about to slash at Tatsumi's midsection, but I quickly interjected and managed to block his strike before it could hit my friend.

"Sorry, sensei,", I said with an apologetic tone. "but I'm afraid we'll have to skip today's lesson." When I sensed that Tatsumi falled back, I quickly followed suit to distance myself from the Teigu user.

"So you want to take his place, I see.", Zank said with a grin. "I will hold a special place for your head in my collection!" He then dashed forward, blades raised and ready to behead me. Following my instincts, I came to a crouch before he could hit me. I then attempted to slash at his arms to disable them, but he easily blocked my strike with one of his blades. "I told you earlier, it's useless.", Zank spoke, that wicked grin never leaving his face. "But don't worry, as I said, I will be sure to keep my student's head safe from all danger... I'm so happy, happy!" Since I had my two arms on my sword's handle, I couldn't block Zank's strike. I felt an extreme pain on the left side of my chest.

"GAAHH!", I yelled as I felt pain like that for the first time in my life. In Zank's surprise of not cutting my neck, I jumped back to Tatsumi's side, my right hand cluched over my wound.

"Ooh, interesting.", Zank spoke in a surprised tone. "You knew I would strike your neck, so you moved out of the way right before my blade made contact. Impressive indeed. However, It only fuels my need for your head! So happy!", he exclaimed, rushing towards me and Tatsumi. The brunette probably knew he couldn't win against a Teigu user like Zank, yet he took his sword and stood in front of me, desperately trying to protect me. Heh... What a good friend.

* * *

(Normal POV)

Right before the Executioner could make contact with the two rookie assassins, Zank abruptly halted his sprint as a familiar katana landed right before him, the edge stuck in the ground. Everyone looked up, where the blade came from, to see it was Akame who threw her sword. As Zank stood back, the raven-haired girl landed on the ground and pulled her Teigu out of the stone, pointing it at the Executioner.

"Good job holding him back, Hitomi.", she said, readying herself for battle.

"Akame!", Tatsumi cheered as he helped the blonde teen sit down.

"... Hey, Akame...", Hitomi said with a little weakness apparent in his voice.

"I barely found you in time.", the girl smiled at the boys. "... Just wait there. I'll end this quickly and then tend to your wounds."

"Yes, please.", Hitomi said with a smile. "That would be goo- *cough* *cough* Aw crap, I'm coughing blood..."

"Hey, don't exert yourself...", Tatsumi sweatdropped as he helped remove the blonde's grey hoodie.

"Hmmm.", Zank grinned as he saw his new opponent. "The ill-reputed Akame and Demon Sword, Murasame. I've wanted to meet you, happy, happy."

"I've wanted to meet you as well.", Akame replied, taking a combat stance. "Taking your life is my current mission, after all. You also hurt my teammate, so I'll kill two birds with one stone."

 _'Clear Sight!'_ Zank activated another of his Teigu's abilities, this one permitting him to see through solid objects, or in this occasion, clothes. _'I see, she doesn't have any hidden weapons!'_ , he concluded.

"Akame... watch out for Three-eyes' Teigu... on his forehead.", Hitomi warned. "He can... read your mind with that."

"I see.", the girl nodded. "That's the power of his Teigu, huh... But... just because he can read my mind,", she then dashed forward in Zank's direction. "doesn't mean he can keep up with my movements." The two Teigu users' blades clashed in a battle to see who was the strongest. Akame was fast, but Zank was able to keep up with her and block her attacks.

 _'How masterful...'_ , Zank grinned. _'She has a mountain of fighting experience. And it isn't just her speed, either. She has the arm strength to match...!'_

"So... fast..." Tatsumi was bewildered by the display of speed and power happening before him. _'This is... a real fight between Teigu users...!'_

"Hey... Tatsumi?", Hitomi said, grasping the brunette's attention.

"What is it, Hitomi?" A smile spread on the blonde's face.

"... I think he missed my lung. That would've been bad, huh?" As he said that, he freed himself from Tatsumi's arms, showing that he already recovered enough to stay balanced without help.

"You bastard.", Tatsumi smiled as well. "You should've just insulted him like you always do."

"... Noted. Guess I'll stay like I am, huh."

* * *

Back to the battle, Akame had emptied her head of thoughts to counter Zank's mind reading abilities.

"Ohh? To be without thought, huh?", the Executioner noticed. "Splendid! But Spectator has the ability to see the future as well!" He pointed to his Teigu as he explained yet another ability he possessed. "By seeing the smallest muscle movements... I can see what you plan to do next!" As he said that, he successfully blocked Akame's downward strike. The force was so powerful, the ground below Zank began to cave in. They clashed again for a little bit before Akame stepped back, a small cut apparent on her left thigh.

 _'An attack hit Akame...'_ , Tatsumi realised. _'I've never seen that before.'_

"I tell you.", Zank spoke, his grin never leaving his face. "That sword there... It's almost unfair how I can't take even the tiniest scratch, or else I die, huh..."

"I could say the same to you, seeing as you know what I'm going to do before I do it.", Akame countered.

"Say, Akame... What do you do about the voices...?", Zank asked the black-haired girl, surprising her.

"... Voices?"

"Yes... The voices that never stop. The voices that drift up from hell... The moans of those who have been murdered!" His grin then twisted to be even more terrifying than before. "The ones that bear a grudge... Constantly calling for me to join them in hell."

"Holy hell... This guy is a complete schizophrenic...", Hitomi muttered under his breath. "No wonder he likes talking so much..."

"Since my time as an executioner, I've always heard them.", Zank continued. "But recently, they've been especially loud. I quiet them down by speaking. But how do you deal wi-"

"I don't hear anything.", Akame cut the man. "I've never... heard anything. No voices. Nothing."

"... What?" Zank looked like he was mortified by Akame's answer. "I thought that an assassin like you would share and understand this problem, but... How sad, it seems I was mistaken!", he yelled as his Teigu activated. Akame suddenly widened her eyes, as if she saw a ghost. Before her was not Zank anymore, but a girl her age closely resembling her.

"... Kurome?"

"Uhhhh, what's happening now?", Hitomi asked as he lifted himself up, ignoring the stinging pain in his chest.

"Oh, still alive, I see.", Zank stated after noticing the blonde getting up. "Splendid! The ability I used is 'Illusion Sight'. This ability finds the person most precious to you and shows them before your eyes."

 _'So Tatsumi must've seen someone he holds dear...'_ , the blonde thought as the brunette had a pondering look, probably thinking about the same thing.

"Akame!", Tatsumi suddenly shouted. "What you're seeing is an illusion! Don't be fooled by it!"

"It's useless, boy. For the one trapped in it, the illusion is absolute.", Zank explained, slowly walking towards Akame, ready to finish her off. "Furthermore... No matter how skillful the person is, it's impossible for them to lay a hand on the one they love most... Die while gazing at the one you love most in this world!" Zank said as he lifted his blades, about to behead the black-haired assassin. However, he was forced to block a strike as Akame actually went to slash him. "Impossible...", the Executioner muttered. "How!?", he yelled. "You should have been seeing the person you love most in this world!"

"The one I love most in this world... is the one I wish to kill most.", Akame calmly answered as she glared at Zank.

 _'She... What is she...!?'_ Zank was starting to panic. The battle seemed to lean in Akame's favor. Worst, he noticed his blades were beginning to have cracks in them.

"This fight is almost over...", Akame said, preparing for another attack. "First, I must destroy his weapons.", she muttered to herself as she lunged towards Zank.

 **"NURAAAAAAHHH!"** , the Executioner yelled. "You think you can kill me~~~!?" He grunted as their blades clashed. _'I need to kill her first! I can see her next moves, so I have the upper hand!'_ After another clash, the cracks in his blades started to widen more and more. _'Gah... I need to kill her now! But my blades are going to break before I can do that...!'_ With a final downward thrust, Akame succeeded in destroying Zank's blades. The Executioner's grin was quickly replaced with a panicked grimace.

"Obliterate.", With this word, Akame swiftly slashed through Zank's throat.

"GAHHH!", Zank made as he coughed out blood.

 _'Wow...'_ , Hitomi widened his eyes in surprise. _'That girl... really is something else... If I train enough, I could become as strong as her, Teigu or not!'_

"So, how about it?", Akame addressed Zank. "You can no longer hear the moans of the dead, right?"

The headphones-looking accessories on the tall man's ears suddenly broke in pieces. He was surprised when he noticed the voices weren't talking to him anymore. "... Hah... happy, happy... I'm thankful to you... Akame..." After he spoke his last words, Akame sheathed her weapon and made her way towards Hitomi to pick him up.

"H-Hey, I can stand now...!", Hitomi yelped as Akame lifted him bridal style.

"You shouldn't exert your body too much.", the raven-haired replied with a smile. "Let me help you." After a sigh, the blonde stopped struggling and let himself be carried by his friend all the way to the Night Raid hideout.

* * *

 **I'm not really experienced with writing battles, but I hope I did okay on this chapter.**

 **Ohh nooooooo, Hitomi actually got hit while trying not to be a dick... I guess having a Teigu against someone who doesn't is kinda cheating...**

 **Anyway! See you next time!**


	15. Chapter 14

**Hey guys! I'm back with another chapter for you! This is actually the longest chapter I have, so please praise me :P I'll tell you right now, Hitomi absolutely loved this chapter, you'll see why!**

 **In any case, on with the chapter!**

* * *

 **Soul in the Dream**

 **CHAPTER 14**

(Hitomi's POV)

A few days has passed since our clash against Zank the Executioner. Lucky bastard Tatsumi, who only had some scratches on him, was dispatched less than an hour after coming to our infirmary in the hideout. As for me... well... I was supposed to stay in my room to rest for a few days. However, knowing me, the Boss gave up on arguing when I said I didn't want to be copped up and do nothing for days. But she did make me promise I wouldn't do any physical activities until I was fully healed. That's where Bulat comes in! Since he's in charge of cleaning, I asked him if I could help with that until my wound healed.

"Are you sure you should be moving around with that wound?", the pompadoured man asked me as he pointed to my bandaged chest. He was mopping the floor as I cleaned a window next to him with a piece of cloth. "The blade nearly cut your lung, I would be surprised if it left no scar."

"I'm alright, don't worry!", I replied with a smile. "I mean, two more millimeters and the answer would've been different, but it's not the case!" I cringed a little because my wound still stung, but I knew I would be perfectly fine. "Hey, when I think about it, where's Tatsumi? Is he training with someone?", I asked Bulat.

"Hmm, I think he's with Sheele.", the man replied, his chin between two fingers. "Knowing her, she's probably making him swim around in this heavy armor." A chill went up my spine as my comrade mentioned that.

"O-Oh... S-Swimming, huh...", I stuttered, an uneasy look on my face.

"Yes.", he nodded with a bright smile. "Swimming while donning something heavy will only build up physique! I can't wait for him to show me his growing muscles!", he finished while flexing his arms. I couldn't help but notice the small blush on his face.

"You should see your face right now.", I let out a small laugh as I remembered that Bulat 'swung that way'.

"Hahaha! Sorry about that.", he laughed along. "Speaking of face, you should've seen the face Akame was making when she brought you back here the other day." I couldn't remember that part because I seemed to have fallen unconscious in Akame's arms when we were nearing the hideout.

"She was making a face?", I raised an eyebrow. Akame was usually so calm and collected. I doubted someone like her would panic over seeing a single wound on a comrade.

"Yeah, she looked terrified.", Bulat said with a more serious tone. "She was sure Zank's attack got your lung, or worst, your heart. I honestly never saw her react like that to someone's wound. She must really care about you.", he added with a smile. I knew Akame was often hiding her caring personality, but her to freak out about a wound on my chest?

* * *

(Akame's POV, after killing Zank)

I ran as fast as my legs could carry me towards the hideout, Hitomi in my arms. Being faster than Tatsumi, I lost him a while ago, but I couldn't care about that right now! My precious comrade has been wounded by a Teigu user and is probably on the verge of dying! A few seconds passed, and I breathed a sigh of relief as I saw our hideout. Ignoring and stepping on Lubbock's wires, which were scattered everywhere to detect intruders, I bolted in the entrance's direction. When I reached the meeting room, I saw everyone have returned after their night of patrol.

"Oh, hey~ Akame!", Leone greeted me with a smile. "How was your- Oh shit! What happened to Hitomi!?", she yelled in concern as she saw the unconscious young man in my arms.

"I'll explain in details later!", I said, panic evident in my voice. "We need to patch him up, quickly! He may have been hit in the lung, or the heart!"

"It does look pretty deep...", the Boss grimly stated as she examined the wound. "Come to the infirmary, we can make it." That said, I followed the Boss to the hideout's infirmary. Even though we didn't have a specialised medic in our ranks, the Boss had gathered knowledge about clinic work in her past, so I eased up a bit.

"Is he going to be alright?", I asked after the Boss disinfected his wound and bandaged him up.

"He's lucky.", she sighed. "The cut is very close to his lung, about one or two millimeters.", she explained, making me sigh in relief as well. "But he'll be fine.", she smiled. "Can I ask you a question, Akame?", she asked me. I nodded in response. "It's the first time I've ever seen you react like that to one of your comrade's wound. Why's that?"

I pondered for a while, thinking about what to answer. Truth is, I didn't really know why I was so worked up... But I shouldn't think much about it. Being concerned for a comrade is a good thing, even if we had know each other for a short time. I was about to give my answer when we heard Hitomi groan as he slowly woke up.

"Hitomi!", I called his name and he looked at me. "Are you alright!?"

"Hmm?" He looked down to see his chest was all patched up. "Well, I didn't die... so yeah, I guess.", he said as he gave us a sheepish grin.

"I told you to be more careful in fights.", the Boss sighed as she scolded Hitomi. "You should really try to stop insulting your opponent in each battle."

"Tatsumi told me what happened.", I told Najenda. "He said he didn't insult Zank or brag about his skill when they fought him.", I explained, making the Boss' eye widen in surprise.

"So... yeah.", Hitomi spoke in a weak voice. "Just... let me insult people.", he said with his trademark smirk."

"*sigh* Just take some rest for now.", the Boss shook her head and got out of the infirmary, probably to update the others on Hitomi's recovery. I smiled at him a last time before following Najenda.

* * *

(Hitomi's POV, back to the present)

"Why would she care that much?", I asked, making Bulat give me a puzzled look. "I mean, we're comrades, I understand that much, but I didn't really noticed we were that close..."

"Hey, don't try to hide it.", Bulat smiled while giving me a small nudge. "You can't fool us with your bragging and 'I don't care' personality. We know you're probably one of the kindest and loyal soul there is. Your presence here changed Night Raid, whether you like it or not.", he continued with a wink. "You and Tatsumi may be new, but you're as much Night Raid assassins as us!"

"That speech felt so cheesy... ", I sweatdropped. "Good to know I'm wanted here... in a good sense."

"But how about your parents?", Bulat said in a concerned tone. "Didn't you say you were good with them?" The subject changing to my parents made me breath out a sad sigh.

"I told everything when I joined, remember?", I said with a sad smile. "Life was good, but it's because they spent all the money they made on me. They lived through hell and I didn't even notice... Now that I have an opportunity to keep them from spending on me..."

"I understand.", my friend nodded. He then switched back to his brotherly smile, showing his glistening teeth. "Well, let's continue cleaning! The dust won't go away on it's own!"

"Y-Yeah, you're right!"

* * *

Another few days have passed and the pain in my chest finally subsided. God... I know I act like a child sometimes, but recently I've really been treated as one while I was recovering... Anyway, the Boss has summoned each of us in the meeting room.

"Hitomi... Your wound is pretty much healed, right?", Najenda asked me, to which I nodded.

"Yep!", I chimed with a bright smile.

"Good. We retrieved the Teigu Zank possessed.", she told us as she opened her mechanical palm, revealing Spectator. The eye was closed for some reason...

 _'Maybe it just isn't activated.'_ , I shrugged off.

"I want you or Tatsumi to try using it.", the Boss said, handing the Teigu to Tatsumi, who was closest to her.

"Wait, really!?", I yelled in excitement.

"No one else wants it!?", Tatsumi added, overjoyed as well to receive a Teigu.

"It's one Teigu per person.", Bulat said with a smile.

"Because it takes considerable mental and physical strength to control them.", Lubbock explained. After a moment of contemplation, Tatsumi put the closed eye on his forehead.

"There was nothing about it in the book.", Najenda spoke. "But it's a Teigu after all, so I'm curious to see what it does..."

"It has the ability to read minds, right?", Akame asked, raising a finger. "Try reading me."

Tatsumi nodded and closed his eyes to concentrate. But after a while, he started to stumble on his feet. "Wh... What's going on...?", he asked in a weakened tone as he clutched his head.

"Oh no, it's rejecting him!", Lubbock exclaimed.

"Hurry and take it off!", Akame ordered me. I quickly obliged and Tatsumi fell to his knees.

"I suddenly feel tired...", he muttered.

"It's the compatibility...", the Boss sighed. "It seems this Teigu isn't suited to you.", she added.

"You were thinking about how uncool it looked or something, weren't you?", Mine asked with her hands on her hips. "The user's first impression of the Teigu is important, you know?", she huffed.

"Impression, huh?", I repeated, staring at the Teigu in my hand. "Okay, my turn!", I said in a loud voice, surprising everyone as I put the eye on my forehead. After a few moments...

Nothing. Until...

"Oh, look!", Leone exclaimed. "The eye is opening."

"It is?", I asked, tilting my head. I didn't really feel it activating... I looked at Mine's face, awaiting a confirmation or something. While she didn't say anything, the way her face looked, the position her facial muscles were in, I had a strange feeling.

 _'Pfff, with that on, he's really starting to look strange...'_

"Hey, don't be rude, Mine.", I pouted, surprising everyone.

"H-Huh? I didn't say anything!", the pinkette stammered, backing up a little. "Wait... are you saying...?"

"Is it working?", Akame asked, her eyes having widened a bit.

"I... think so.", I replied. I finally realised. "Holy hell, it IS working!", I exclaimed, pumping my fists in the air. 'Wait, it's supposed to have five abilities, yet Zank talked only about four...' When I thought that, I felt like a small tingle in my head as the Teigu seemed to respond to my will. I closed my eyes and reopened them, but I quickly felt blood rush to my nose in reaction at what I saw. The three girls that were facing me; Mine, Sheele and Akame, were suddenly in their underwears, looking as if they didn't notice...

"Oh shit!", I yelled as I fell backward in surprise. I had a raging blush on my cheeks as I witnessed Spectator's wonderful ability...

"What's wrong?", Mine asked as she bent over to face me, which gave me a clear view of her... yeah. I quickly recomposed myself when I noticed she was asking me a question.

"J-Just don't give this to Lubba.", I answered, confusing the green-haired teen.

"Huh?"

"Wait...", Mine seemed to ponder for a bit. _'Wait, can he see under our clothes?!'_ , she thought, feeling anger rising inside her. _'That would explain his blushing! That pervert!'_

 _'Shit! I said too much!',_ I yelled in my mind after having read hers. "Bye!", I hollered before bolting out of the room with a speed I didn't know I had, followed by a very, very angry Mine.

"Come back here, you pervert!", she yelled as she ran after me.

"Guess you could say I stepped on an active land-Mine!", I joked as I ran away from the raging pinkette, my newest Teigu safe on my head.

* * *

(Normal POV)

"Well... that happened.", Najenda raised an eyebrow after watching Hitomi being chased by Mine. "However, pervert or not, we have another Teigu in our possession, which will greatly help our cause."

"While we are an assassination team,", Akame spoke to Tatsumi. "collecting the lost Teigu is one of our sub-missions."

"When we run into enemies who possess a Teigu, like Zank did...", Najenda continued, "we take them... Even the weakest of them are invaluable..."

"The more we have, the stronger the Army becomes or something, right?", Tatsumi asked, rubbing the side of his head.

"Correct...", Night Raid's Boss then took a book which was resting on her chair and handed it to Tatsumi. "You should read this book of the known Teigu."

"Wow... so many..." Tatsumi was really surprised by the amount of different weapons present in the book. "And this is just a small portion of them, right?", he asked Najenda.

"The ones in this book are only the Teigu we know about.", Night Raid's Boss nodded. "I'll have to fetch Hitomi later so he could help me write an entry about Spectator.", she pondered.

"That bastard already have a Teigu not even two weeks after joining...", Tatsumi sighed, a grain of jealousy apparent in his tone. "Speaking of, which Teigu is the strongest?", he asked the silver-haired woman.

"Their use and compatibility change...", Najenda replied. "But if I had to say..." She instinctively put her mechanical hand over her eye-patch. "The ice manipulation Teigu... is what I think. Luckily for us, its user is currently busy conquering the northern tribes."

"Because the people of the North are very strong.", Lubbock added. "They even have their own hero."

"Oh! Even I know about him!", Tatsumi exclaimed.

The hero the assassins were talking about was named Numa Seika, Prince of the northern tribes. With his spear in hand, he's never lost a battle. A brilliant tactical genius who the northern people have absolute faith in. Currently the Empire's greatest threat. His powerful army uses the country's most fortified city as a base of operations. They've even become strong enough to invade the Empire! Therefore, in order to keep that from happening, the Empire dispatched an expeditionary force to subjugate the northern tribes.

"But there's no reason to worry yet.", Lubbock stated. "Even with that woman, it'll take at least a year or two to take the North."

"Fu... Fufufufufu!" Tatsumi laughed gently as he heard about this dangerous Teigu user. "The stronger the enemy, the better! We're collecting more and more Teigu, after all."

"You're suddenly cheerful, huh?", Leone noticed. "Why is that all of a sud-"

"Hello! What did I miss?", Hitomi suddenly spoke, having appeared out of seemingly nowhere. He looked proud of himself and his new Teigu was safely attached to his head.

"Oh, you're back.", Akame spoke in an emotionless tone. "Where's Mine?", she asked the blonde. He laughed and he pointed at Spectator on his forehead.

"When you can read minds, predict movements and see through walls, it's really easy to run away from someone!", he laughed. Najenda seemed impressed by the powers Hitomi mentioned.

"I see, it's a powerful Teigu, that's for sure.", she mumbled. "And you seem to already control its abilities pretty well, I'm impressed.", she praised the rookie assassin, who gave a smirk and a thumb up.

"So? What did I miss?", Hitomi repeated.

"Tatsumi is being really fired up about the Teigu.", Leone smirked. "I bet he can't wait to have his own."

"Of course!", Tatsumi said, pumped up. "With this many different Teigu, maybe... just maybe... there may be a Teigu that has the ability to bring dead people back to life!", he shouted, thinking about his friends Sayo and Ieyasu, who died before he joined Night Raid. "R-Right..?" His tone dropped when he saw the dark look in everyone else's faces.

"You can't." The one who spoke was Bulat, who was leaning against the wall.

"... Bro...?"

"A Teigu that can resurrect the dead doesn't exist.", Bulat continued. "In this world... you only get one life."

"... How... How can you know that!?", Tatsumi yelled at his mentor, angry that he would say something like that. "You can't! Not until we've found them, right!?"

"The current Emperor is a good example.", Akame said in a grim tone. "If such a Teigu existed, the first Emperor would still rule."

"It was because he knew that he would someday have to die,", Bulat added, "that he created the Teigu in the first place, right?"

"Don't hang your hopes on that.", Akame said to Tatsumi, who looked devastated by what he just heard. "If you do, an enemy will use that weakness of mind against you. And you will be killed." The brown-haired boy didn't say anything, but the clench in his fists were good indications as to what he was feeling. Without a word, he leaved the meeting room and went upstairs into his room.

* * *

Around that time, in the North's fortified city, everything was silent, like a storm just finished passing through. Buildings were demolished, countless numbers of people were either laying in a pool of blood or frozen solid. There was only one survivor of this massacre; the northern hero Numa Seika. Except that he was naked and was on his knees, licking the boot of the one who defeated him. A tall, beautiful slender woman with long light blue hair and blue eyes. She wore a General's apparel with long sleeves and high-heeled boots. On her chest was a strange, black tattoo.

"The northerners were defeated in a blink of an eye. That's our General for you!", praised a soldier.

"Their army, people and pride were so easily crushed, huh...", the woman sighed. "And this is their supposed hero...? How worthless.", she said, looking at Seiko, who was panting like an animal at her feet. "Die, dog!" He kicked Seiko's head with such force, anyone could hear his neck shatter like glass.

"Somewhere out there... Is there an enemy that can satisfy me...?", the Empire's strongest, Esdeath, said in a sadistic tone.

* * *

 **God, the content in this chapter... Hitomi got himself a Teigu and there was actually a different POV except Hitomi's and the third person view... plus a flashback, but meh.**

 **I'm in a desperate need of reviews right now (not really), so tell me, guys... What do you think Hitomi can do, in a fight or not, to completely abuse Spectator's abilities?**


	16. Chapter 15

**Hello guys! :) I got a shorter chapter for you, but a chapter nonetheless. Enjoy ^^**

* * *

 **Soul in the Dream**

 **CHAPTER 15**

(Hitomi's POV)

A week has passed since I received my awesome new Teigu. Unfortunately, we weren't needed to assassinate anyone, which was kinda sad because I really wanted to try out Spectator in actual combat. So instead, I decided to train my body with the help of everyone else.

This morning, the Boss had said that we had two missions to accomplish. I was really eager to finally go out. Except...

"Tatsumi, Leone. You'll pair up to go after the drug smuggling leaders."

"Alright!" "You got it!"

"Mine, Sheele. I want you two to take care of Chibul."

"D'aww...", I pouted when I learned I wouldn't go today.

When we were dismissed, an idea popped into my head. I quickly looked for Akame and went to see her.

"Hey Akame?" The raven-haired girl turned her head towards me when she heard her name.

"Hmm? Oh, what is it, Hitomi?", she asked me.

"Sorry for the sudden request, but can you help me train today?", I asked her with a polite tone. Better be respectful to our senpai, y'know? She gave me a small smile.

"I don't have anything planned, so sure.", she nodded her head.

"Good, thanks!", I bowed my head a little. "You see, after watching you fight Zank, I realised that I should be very fast and agile if I want to use Spectator well.", I explained as I pointed the closed eye on my forehead. "I figured you would be the best one to help with that." She nodded and asked me to follow her in the training yard, which I obliged.

A few minutes later, Akame and I were standing face to face, wooden swords in our hands. The whole point was to react fast enough to enemy movement, so I kept Spectator on, activating the eye.

"The first lesson would've been to try and predict attacks, but I think your Teigu takes care of that.", Akame said, taking a battle stance, which I did too.

 _'I'll rush him and aim for his neck while I talk.'_ , the black-haired assassin thought, which didn't go unnoticed by me.

"Therefore,", Akame continued, suddenly rushing towards me at high speeds. But I knew Akame's speed, so I was prepared. Before the wooden blade could touch me, I blocked it with my own.

"Therefore, we'll go straight to the actual practice.", I finished with a smirk. "That's what you were thinking, right?", I comically asked, imitating Zank, Spectator's previous owner.

 _'I'll spin and aim his legs.'_ , my friend thought. She spun, and before she could hit me, I jumped back, avoiding her attack. I knew she was going easy on me, but I couldn't be more thankful. Starting easy like this helped me adapt myself to my Teigu's abilities.

"I love this Teigu.", I stated with a smile. "Of course, I can't kill people in one cut like Murasame, but powerful nonetheless."

"I'm honestly surprised you managed to get a Teigu in such a short time.", Akame added, taking a combat stance once again. _'Left jab, followed by a kick to the knee. I'll finish with a slash to the throat.'_ , she planned.

My comrade then ran towards me, ready to attack. I quickly moved to my left to avoid her jab and spun my body 90 degrees to the right to dodge her kick. She didn't falter and aimed at my neck, like she planned. I knew I wouldn't have time to block with my sword, so I raised my left hand in hope of catching her arm holding the sword. Unfortunately for me, she saw it coming and raised her blade, aiming at my hand instead. I read it in her mind, but my arm was too slow to react, so I got 'slashed' on the hand by Akame's sword.

"Awww crap.", I pouted, dropping my stance.

"You shouldn't rely on your Teigu's abilities too much.", Akame told me. "You were more focused into reading my next move than to adapt to the situation. I made a split decision to aim at your hand and you were too slow to respond to the changes of the attack plan you saw in my mind.", she explained.

"Yeah, I know that.", I shrugged, not offended in the least by her direct pointing of my weakness. I took an attack stance once again. "But that's why I'm training!", I said as I dashed forward to attack.

* * *

The entire day passed and I was, for a lack of a better term, beat up. The moment Akame decided to go all out, this training's level was way passed the 'newbie assassin' level. But I did manage to get a few 'slashes' at her, which surprised her even though I used my Teigu.

"We should stop for today.", Akame breathed. Like me, she was covered in sweat and panting. "I'm impressed by the progress you made.", she told me. "I can already see you're a lot stronger than this morning."

"Hannn... Thanks...", I panted with a smile. She was right, I did feel stronger than I was. This training was really paying off.

"In the mean time, we should be on our way to prepare dinner.", Akame told me.

"We?"

"You're helping me today."

"Oh." Since Tatsumi wasn't here, I figured she needed a cooking buddy. "What're we making?", I asked.

"Beef over rice.", she replied with a thumb up.

"You really are a true meat eater, you know that?", I sighed at Akame's absurd love for meat. Well, I can't blame her; I love it as well.

* * *

"Ahhhhhh, that hits the spot!", Leone exclaimed after she finished her plate. She and Tatsumi came early from their job. It seems the mission went well. Mine and Sheele had yet to come back, though...

"You're a better cook than expected.", Akame praised me while swiping her mouth with a handkerchief.

"Awwww, stop, you'll make me blush.", I said while scratching my head.

"Like when you were seeing through everyone's clothes?", Leone joked with a sly smile as she jabbed me on the arm.

"Oh, you have got to be kidding me...", I sighed. "I was taken by surprise. That's all!", I defended myself, waving my arms in front of me.

"At least you have the ability to do it, you bastard!", Lubbock yelled from across the table. He was crying anime-style, so I figured he was pretty jealous.

"Oh, come on.", I rolled my eyes. "It's not like I'm gonna abuse it, right?" The stares everyone gave me told me that they didn't trust my statement one bit... "In my defense, it's better that I have Spectator rather than Lubba."

"Hey!"

My... thoughtful argument seemed to convince the others as they dropped their glares and continued to eat while retaking the conversation they had.

* * *

Later this night, Lubbock sensed a single person slowly walk their way towards the hideout. Not taking any chances, we all made our way out. It couldn't be Mine and Sheele, because numbers. We could see the person's silhouette coming towards us in a slow pace, but we couldn't identify who it was. Remembering what my Teigu was, I activated it and used the Farsight ability, which allowed me, in this case, to see well in the dark.

"M-Mine!?", I stammered as I saw the identity of the person coming to our hideout. I cringed when I saw that she was badly hurt. Upon hearing me say Mine's name, the others quickly rushed towards her to see if she was okay.

"Mine! What happened!?", Tatsumi asked her, fear and worry evident in his eyes. He looked around the pinkette, looking for- wait, where was Sheele...?

"Where's Sheele...?", I asked in a low tone. I didn't need Spectator to predict what was coming, but I needed to be sure...

The pinkette dropped her head, a few tears pouring out. "Sheele was..." She couldn't finish her sentence.

 _'No way...'_ , I thought, clenching my fist. _'No fucking way.'_ I looked around and saw that everyone was devastated by the news.

"Wh-Where is the person who did it...?", Tatsumi asked, a few tears apparent in his eyes. The pinkette didn't respond... "Mine?!", the brown-haired teen repeated with hints of anger.

"Wait.", the Boss interrupted with an emotionless voice. "What do you intend to do, Tatsumi?", she asked.

"It's obvious, isn't it?!", he yelled with rage. "Revenge!"

"Stop.", Najenda told him. "If you go off half-cocked, all you will be doing is increasing the body count.", she told him calmly.

"Hey! Our friend was killed!", the brunette continued his rant. "Do you think I'm just going to sit here and stay silent?!" He was going to continue but we were all surprised when Bulat came up and punched Tatsumi right in the jaw, sending him flying a couple feet.

"Stop acting like a child, Tatsumi!", the man yelled, tears in his eyes. "Compose yourself! When did anyone ever said that we couldn't be harmed or killed?! You knew this could happen when you agreed to join us!"

I turned my head away from the commotion Tatsumi started. Looking at Mine, I saw that her head was still down, deep in thought. Curious, I activated Insight to take a look inside her mind. I knew this was an invasion of privacy, but if she couldn't tell us who did this to our teammate, I would get the information by any means.

 _'I knew you were doing your duty...'_ , the pinkette thought. _'I know this is our punishment... I know all of that, but... but you killed Sheele. And you will be hunting us from now on..._

 _ **Seryu Ubiquitous**! I will certainly take you down!'_

"Seryu, huh... I'll remember that...", I muttered. Mine turned her eyes towards me, seemingly the only one who heard me. I think she knows I invaded her mind, but she didn't say anything.

"Sheele's death was certainly not pointless.", the Boss announced, clenching her fist. "The Empire will now finally understand; it takes a Teigu to fight a Teigu. And now they will bring in more Teigu users to fight for them. But what this means for us... is that the chances to collect more Teigu will increase!"

* * *

(Normal POV)

Just outside the Capital, a giant wyvern was perched atop a cliff. It looked extremely powerful, but its more interesting trait was the woman sitting on its back.

"I'm home, Capital.", Esdeath, the Empire's strongest, said from her seat. A smile came to her face, anticipating the fun she would have with whatever enemies she was asked to come fight...

* * *

 **Yeah... Writing the death of a comrade is no fun at all... :/**


	17. Chapter 16

**Hello guys! I'm sorry for the lack of update. I... have nothing to say about that. Anyway, I hope you'll still enjoy this chapter ^^'**

 **Oh, and thanks a lot to the people who favorited/followed and to those who left reviews! Really appreciated, I do my best (when I'm _actually_ writing...)**

* * *

 **Soul in the Dream**

 **CHAPTER 16**

(Hitomi's POV)

Morale surely have plummeted since that night two days ago... The atmosphere was pretty dark and no one really talked to each other... I guess that's the result of having a good friend die without us being able to do anything to change it...

Me and Tatsumi were doing the dishes, with only Mine and Akame in the dining room aside from us. The pinkette was desperately trying to eat, but with her dominant hand disabled, she had a lot of trouble.

"Ah!", she made when she dropped her spoon into her plate. She sighed and was about the pick her spoon again, but Akame beat her to it and gently took Mine's utensil.

"Mine.", the black-haired girl said while hovering the spoon near the pinkette's mouth, telling her to let Akame feed her.

"Leave me be,", Mine scoffed. "I can eat on my own, you know."

"I'm trying to help.", argued the raven-haired teen, still holding the spoon.

"... *sigh* Alright, alright..."

As Akame was spoon-feeding Mine, the Boss entered the kitchen. When her eyes landed on me, she perked up a little.

"Oh, there you are, Hitomi.", she said. "I was looking for you."

I put the dishes I had in my hands and removed my apron. "What for?", I asked. She smirked when I asked.

"You'll be happy.", she said. "Come to the meeting room, I have a mission for you and Bulat." Oh my god, I finally get to go out a bit!

"Well, it was fun watching Akame feed Mine but I gotta go.", I announced with a smirk as I left the room with Najenda, ignoring Mine's comment about me being an idiot.

* * *

Later this day, I was on a rooftop with Bulat. Our target was a blacksmith named Dwaine, but this was completely irrelevant. He was suspected of kidnapping people coming to his shop at night, but we didn't have confirmation, nor did we know what he actually did to them.

 _"I want you two to confirm if it's true.", had said the Boss. "If it is, well, you know what to do."_

The blacksmith's shop was just below us. Since we were in the center of the Capital, we couldn't go Leone-style and break everything. We need to be real sneaky on this one.

"Ready to go, Hitomi?", Bulat asked me. He was wearing his Incursio armor and was about to turn invisible to infiltrate the building. "We need to see if he's really a kidnapper first. I'll sneak into the basement to take a look. You wait here and check the surroundings.", he told me his plan.

"You're really underestimating me.", I said with arms crossed. I couldn't see his face, but I could tell he was confused. "Clearsight!" With these words, my Teigu activated and I could see the shop's wall and roof slowly disapear from my view. I could see our target calmly clean his counter, without a care in the world. I concentrated even more, and after a few seconds, the floor turned translucent. I let out a small gasp at what I saw; five young teens were strapped to poles in the basement. Their clothes were tattered and they looked beat up as well. Before I could look any longer, I felt a small pain in my head. Looking through multiple layers of solid objects was really tiring, but I managed to get the job done.

"There's five... teens down there.", I grunted as I deactivated Spectator. Normally, this Teigu wasn't very tiring, this being the first time I actually had a headache while using it.

"Oh, I'm sorry.", Bulat apologised with a small laugh. "I forgot you could do that... You okay?" I took a deep breath and nodded, the pain fading away.

"Yeah.", I nodded. "And why do you think the Boss sent me on this mission!? I can do more than sightseeing, y'know!", I scolded my comrade as he sratched the side of his head sheepishly.

* * *

"Hello! Welcome to Dwaine's Sword.", the blacksmith greeted me when I entered his shop. "How can I help you?"

 _'Did he really call his shop 'Dwaine's Sword'...?'_ I shook my head of my perverse thoughts and took a look a him. Smallish, red beard and hair, green eyes, this guy didn't really look dangerous to me... Behind me, I could sense Bulat sneaking towards the trapdoor leading to the basement. I needed to hurry up and kill this bastard before he noticed.

"Yes, hello.", I greeted with a smile. "Hey, how much would that blade cost?", I asked him while pointing to a random blade behind him. When he turned his head, Bulat didn't lose any time as he quickly went into the shop's basement to free the teens held there. Unfortunately, the trapdoor closing made a noise.

"Wh-What was that!?", the blacksmith jumped back when he heard the sound. He seemed nervous. He was even more surprised when he saw me pointing my sword at his throat. Before he had the chance to scream, I quickly jumped above the counter and placed my free hand on his mouth, muffling the blacksmith.

"Sorry, shorty.", I said in an apologetic tone. "I would love to stay and chat, but the people you have in your basement are a good reason to kill you, y'know?" When I mentionned the people he held prisoners, his eyes widened and he shook his head repeatedly. "So you admit it?", I asked him. No response from Dwaine. I sighed and jabbed my sword in his heart, killing him instantly. "That was a little easy...", I pouted as I wiped the blood off my sword. I then heard the trapdoor open behind me.

"Oh, good job, Hitomi.", Bulat gave me a thumb up as he got out of the basement. "I told the kids not to go up for a bit so they couldn't see your face.", he said. How thoughtful of him. "Well, mission accomplished, let's go." I nodded with a smirk and followed the armored man outside, ready to brag about a job well done.

"... You actually weren't needed in this mission.", I teased Bulat with a smirk.

"O-Oh, don't be like that, I helped free the kidnapped people! That's plenty!"

* * *

This night, I couldn't sleep, so I went to the kitchen to eat a little something. Akame was also here, preparing an offering for Sheele. Her favorite meal, to be exact.

"Akame, Hitomi...?" I turned my head and saw Tatsumi in the doorway. My guess is that he couldn't sleep. "A midnight snack?", he asked.

"No..." "Yes.", Akame and I answered at the same time.

"I'm the one eating.", I quickly added, stating the obvious.

"I'll be giving these to Sheele.", Akame said in a saddish tone, showing Tatsumi the plate of food. "Since we work in the shadows... Sheele's name will never be recorded in the history of the Revolutionary Army. So I have to remember more things about her than anyone else." She dropped her head, her bangs covering her eyes. "She may have done many foolish things, but she was the kindest one of us all."

"I understand.", Tatsumi nodded. "You're doing the same thing as me when I offer flowers to Sayo and Ieyasu, right?"

"Yes."

"But... you're amazing, Akame...", he continued in a sad voice, confusing our raven-haired comrade. "You keep composed even though one of our comrades have died.", the brunette explained. "I guess you're used to it by now though..."

 _'How can anyone be used to death!?'_ , I yelled in my mind, honestly irritated by my friend's choice of words. I tried ignoring his speech and focus on my snack, but the sound of dishes shattering made me jump and turn my head quickly. I was surprised when I realised Akame dropped the plate and was lifting Tatsumi by the collar.

"I have seen many of my allies die before my eyes...", she grimly said. "However..." She lifted her head, showing some tears falling down her face. "One of our precious comrades died! There's no way you can even get used to this kind of pain!" She was yelling now, and it kinda scared me... "But these feelings will have an impact on our next mission! So I go around acting like I'm just fine about it! We work in the shadows! What would I do if I couldn't flip this switch...?! And you... call this being composed...", she continued. Her head was down again and tears were openly flowing out of her eyes. "I... How am I supposed to feel about Sheele's death...? How am I?!"

By now, I decided to act. It was a rare sight to see Akame's emotional side, but seeing her crying just made me want to cry, and I didn't like to cry. I got up from my seat and gently put a hand on her shoulder. Upon my touch, she released Tatsumi and turned her head towards me, her face red from crying.

"How about... we make a promise to you.", I said with a small smile. When I saw her confused look, I continued. "I don't want to see you sad like that ever again. So, on my magnificent third eye and my lovely personality, I promise that I won't die, no matter what! Oh, and Tatsumi too, I guess."

"Hitomi..." She wasn't expecting a comic relief character like me saying something like that, huh..? I'm actually surprised myself...

"He's right.", Tatsumi smiled. "We'll make a new country... where we can always see everyone's smiling faces."

Akame smiled and wiped the tears off her face. "Yeah, that's right.", she agreed. The level of sadness was pretty high tonight...

"Oh I can't take it anymore! Gimme a hug, now." That said, I wrapped my arms around Akame. She tensed up in surprise but didn't seem to complain as I felt her relax and hug me back. I didn't miss Tatsumi, who gave me a weird look with an eyebrow raised. I replied by flipping him the bird in the most polite way I could think of.

* * *

 **So? What did you think? I know this chapter was kinda short, but would you like more random missions like I did here? If I do make more, I'll make then longer, of course ^^**


	18. Chapter 17

**Hey guys! I'm back with another chapter for you ^^ I got nothing important to say except 'Thanks for your support, guys!'**

 **... So, yeah, enjoy ^^'**

* * *

 **Soul in the Dream**

 **CHAPTER 17**

(Hitomi's POV)

The next morning, I felt someone shaking me awake. Who would do such a thing...? I was having such a nice dream... I think? I slowly opened my eyes and saw Akame standing in front of me, staring at my outstretched form. Realising I only slept in boxers, I silently yelped and quickly put the covers over my body. Yeah, I sometime sleep without the covers, by the way.

"What are you doing here!?", I hissed. Sighing, I managed to crack my usual teasing smile. "Didn't think you of all people would be a creeper..." She shook her head in response.

"You said you wanted me to train you, right?", she asked me, to which I slowly nodded. "I'm preparing to go on my morning run, and I want you to come with me.", she told me in an impassive tone. "Running is an important step in training speed.", she added. She really wanted me to come, didn't she...

"Yeah, yeah, sure...", I sighed. "Just... let me change. Please?" My friend nodded and went outside my room, telling me that she would wait for me outside the hideout. I quickly put my pants on, followed by my shirt and hoodie. I finished my look by putting Spectator on my forehead. While putting my shirt on, my finger brushed against the scar on my chest, the result of my clash with Zank the Executioner.

"Well that's not going anywhere...", I sighed, referring to the scar. I then quietly went out of my room, taking a quick peak in everyone's room with my Teigu to see if I woke someone up. It was, like, five in the morning, and if I woke someone like Leone or Mine, I'd be in a world of pain... I made my way to the hideout's entrance to see Akame waiting for me.

"Good, you came.", she gave me a small smile. She was doing some stretches while waiting for me to join her. I gave her a smile as well.

"Well, I couldn't possibly leave you alone outside, now would I?", I teased.

"I would've dealt with any intruder who would've come here, don't worry.", she shrugged, apparently having missed my point.

"Better luck next time...", I mumbled to myself. "So, what's the plan?", I asked her.

"We'll run two laps around the forest, followed by a basic training regimen in the yard.", Akame explained. "After that, we'll train in combat until it's time to make breakfast." I already felt tired just by hearing her say our morning plans...

"... Do you do that every morning...?"

"Hm-hm.", she nodded. Holy hell, no wonder she's so fit...

"Ooh boy...", I sighed as I took off my hoodie. "All right, let's do this! If this training doesn't kill me, the Capital will!"

* * *

I can't believe I actually survived this... We have trained for almost three hours and I quickly realised Akame's training was way harder than my own training back home...

I yelped as I dodged a slash from Akame. We were fighting using wooden swords and, well, let's just say I've been on the defensive for a while. I had Spectator activated with the Precognition ability, which allowed me to detect the smallest muscle movement for a convenient evasion. I figured it could be more useful in training like this, and I was right! I barely had any scratches on me, and considering I was fighting Akame, that was something to be very proud of. Of course, she was way faster than me, but I could see I was improving!

"I see you've improved a lot in evading and predicting attacks.", Akame complimented. But?"But all of this is in vain if you can't land an attack." And there it is.

"I'm just taking my time, that's all.", I smirked. I then dashed towards her, but I stopped in my tracks to duck as I saw Bulat's powerful punch pass right over me. Thank you, Spectator...

"Holy-! Yo, Bulat, was that really necessary!?", I yelled at the older man who laughed.

"Hahaha! Sorry, Hitomi, I wanted to see if you were able to react to an unsuspected attack." He continued to laugh as I pouted at him for 'ruining' the practice match I had with Akame.

"Is everyone up?", Akame asked as she approached us. Bulat shook his head in response.

"No, Leone and Mine are still asleep.", he said. "I came outside to help train Tatsumi." He pointed to said brown-haired boy, who was behind him. "I'll be taking him in the mountains."

"Good idea.", Akame nodded. She put her wooden sword away and turned around to face me. "Come with me, Hitomi. We'll go prepare breakfast in the meantime."

"Did I just replace Tatsumi as your assistant or what...?", I sweatdropped. I sighed and nonetheless followed her obediently into the kitchen.

* * *

(Normal POV)

In a small village in the outskirts of the Capital, a carriage followed by numerous armored guards was heading towards the enormous city. Inside the wooden carriage, an old man was watching the pitiful state of the citizens. A lot of people slept outside in the cold, despair present on everybody's face.

"How terrible, this village as well, huh...", the man muttered to himself. "A nation is said to be made up of it's people, and yet it's come to this."

"These poor people.", agreed a young woman seated beside him. "I think you are heading into a nest of vipers by returning to the Capital, father."

"I can't just stay in retirement when there are people living like this. The country will be doomed..." The older man sighed. He was the former Prime Minister of the Capital, Chouri. He gave his position a few years ago, but it seemed he regretted his decision. "If it's like this, I will have to fight that Minister to the bitter end!"

"And I'll protect you!", chirped the woman, brandishing a well-crafted spear.

"You've grown to be such a fine woman.", Chouri smiled. "I guess that gallantry is the reason you have yet to become a bride...?"

"Ah! Th-That doesn't matter right now, does it?!", she stammered in embarrassment. "Besides, I'm not really gallant, I can just use the spear pretty well. Also, if a good person did appear, even I would get married."

"Sorry I asked..."

The young woman stopped her ranting when she saw three figure standing in the middle of the road. It looked like they were waiting for the former Minister. "What's this...?", she questioned.

The figure at the left was a man of large muscular build with long, spiky blond hair and white, pupil-less eyes. He wore a headdress similar to horns. The one in the center was a young man of small build with blond hair and golden eyes. He wore shorts and had horn-like accessories in his hair and a demon-like fake tail. The last figure was a tall man with grey hair worn in a long ponytail. He had blue eyes and a mustache. Each of them wore a similar, jacket-like uniform.

"Bandits again?!", Chouri yelled. "Public order has fallen so far!"

"We will deal with them the same way as the last ones!", announced his daughter as she got out of the carriage. "Prepare yourselves!" She then positioned herself in front of the vehicle, the other guards taking a combat stance as well.

"Daidara.", the tall, grey-haired man spoke to the muscular, blond man.

"Yeah?" He understood what his comrade wanted him to do. He reached his hand behind his back, where a giant, double-edged axe rested. In a quick but powerful motion, he took the weapon and swung it, managing to cut in half the entirety of the guards charging him. The only one who survived the attack was the former Minister's daughter. However, she was on her knees, panting. She looked up as she saw the smaller boy crouch down to her level.

"Heh... Not bad, onee-chan.", he said with a smile. "You're pretty skilled to have escaped a killing blow from Daidara's attack. But..." As he said those words, he slowly drew a knife from his uniform. "Considering what I'm going to do to you, I'm pretty sure you'll wish you'd been cut in half."

Meanwhile, the big man, Daidara, roughly pushed Chouri to the ground. As he attempted to lift himself up, he noticed the grey-haired man's face.

"Y-You're soldiers and officers of the Empire...!"

"Correct.", the man bowed slightly in respect. "I am a great admirer of your political works, sir."

"Th-Then why are you coming after me?!"

"Because, above all..." With a slice of his arm, he cleanly cut Chouri's head off in a swift motion. "our master's orders are absolute!"

"Fifteen people defeated, is it?", Daidara counted. "All right! The value of this experience will lead me to become stronger!"

"Spread out the leaflets!", the gray-haired man cut. "Help me out, Daidara!"

"We're being used as the hand of the Minister, eh...", Daidara spoke as he threw fliers around. "Well, he has always been accused of getting rid of his political opponents."

"However, the hand in this will appear to lead to the officials under the protection of Grand-General Budo."

"Ohhh, that's right! That's why it's our turn to act, right?"

"Didn't we explain this to you before...?"

"Hey, hey! Liver, check it out, look!" They were interrupted by the younger man, who came back with a smile. "Ta-dah~!" He brandished something in his hands, which was revealed to be the face of the poor woman who survived Daidara's attack. "My collection has increased!", he added with a gleeful smile.

"... Nyau has such a disgusting habit." Daidara looked genuinely disgusted by the face in the younger man's hands.

"You made sure to properly kill her, right?", the older man, Liver, asked Nyau.

"Ahahahaha! She died halfway through from shock!", Nyau laughed.

"Good. Let's head home.", Liver announced. "To celebrate this success, I'll cook dinner!"

"P-Please, you really don't need to, do you?!", Nyau shivered.

"Your cooking has the same destructive power as the average Teigu!", Daidara added. "Come on! It even caused Esdeath-sama to pass out for a few minutes!"

"It'll be fine, this time.", Liver insisted. "I'll use a subtle seasoning with the saliva of the evil-bird."

"We don't need that sort of thing in our food!"

On the ground, where the three men stood minutes ago, laid several fliers with Night Raid's symbol on it. It read: 'Heaven's judgement, delivered by Night Raid.'

* * *

(Hitomi's POV)

Four days has passed and I think I'm in a need of sleep... I usually go to bed late to wake up in time for breakfast, but Akame keeps waking me up at 5 a.m. to go train. She even forces me every time to make breakfast with her... Yeah, I'm her slave, now...

"So... Hitomi...", Leone started as we ate. Everyone was here, except the Boss, for some reason. "You've been getting closer to Akame, I've noticed. Got anything to say~?", she asked me with a teasing smirk.

"Well, we've been training together so..." I gave her a smirk as well. "I mean, when trying to beat someone up with a wooden sword, it's better to be close to your opponent, right?"

"Training, huh..." She was clearly disappointed that her attempt to embarrass me backfired, but she tried something else. "The kind of training you do when alone with a girl~?"

"Well, clearly not the type of 'training' you want to do with Tatsumi.", I replied before taking a bacon strip to my mouth. I noticed Akame didn't say anything to retort what Leone said. I guess she just trusted me to take care of it. Tatsumi, on the other hand...

"Hey! I don't want any part in this!"

"I still don't get why you idiots are here in the first place...", Mine sighed. She was recovering at a phenomenal speed. Baths with special herbs did wonders on the body... She was able to eat by herself, by now, but she still had bandages all over.

"I already told you, Pinks.", I smirked. "Pure skill."

"Says the guy who nearly got killed by a single cut."

"Says the girl who lost to a dog."

"It was a Teigu!"

"Still a dog!"

While we were still squabbling, the Boss entered the dining room, telling us to regroup in the meeting room. By the look on her face, it was important.

* * *

(Normal POV)

"Everyone is here.", Najenda noticed as she saw each Night Raid member present. "I have three pieces of bad news to relay... Listen carefully." The assassins looked at each other in confusion, wondering what their leader was going to tell them. "First, I can no longer contact the local team.", she announced. Needless to say, everyone was surprised. Communication with the local team was important. Losing said communication could pose problem.

"Local team?", Tatsumi asked.

"The Empire is vast.", Akame replied. "We specialise in carrying out assassinations in the Capital, but there is another team that handles the areas around it."

"It's currently being investigated,", Najenda nodded. "but the likelihood that they are dead is high. So be prepared for that."

"Shit...", Hitomi muttered. "If they're dead, that means whoever attacked them knew of their hideout's location, right?", he asked. Najenda nodded at his deduction.

"You're right. Not to take any chances, I think it may be necessary to strengthen security around the hideout."

"Yeah, I'll increase the range of my threads.", Lubbock proposed. Najenda nodded in agreement but diverted her eyes to the ground, having another bad new to share.

"Secondly... Esdeath has finished conquering the North. She has returned to the Capital."

...

"Shit."

* * *

 **Shit indeed... It's bad news after bad news, right...? Anyway, hoped you enjoyed ^^ I'll see you next time!**


	19. Chapter 18

**Hello guys! Here's another chapter for you. The plot continues to advance, I promise!**

* * *

 **Soul in the Dream**

 **CHAPTER 18**

(Hitomi's POV)

This day keeps getting better and better... First we lose contact to another team, then freaking Esdeath pops back in the Capital...

"That was much faster than anyone thought it would be...", Akame voiced, a little shaken.

"God, she's always causing so much trouble...", Lubbock scratched the side of his head.

"It seems her army was left in the North to keep watch, though.", the Boss added.

"Then it's safe to say that she wasn't suddenly brought back to deal with the Revolutionary Army, right?", Bulat asked.

"I can't figure out what her next move will be.", Najenda replied, lighting up a cigarette. "Currently, it seems she is throwing herself into her work at the government's torture facilities." Yikes.

"Torture facilities?", I questioned. "That sounds like fun..."

"You have no idea what she does to prisoners in there...", she sighed. "Anyway, Leone, I want you to go to the Capital and observe her movements."

"Roger!", the blonde chirped. "I've always wanted to know what type of person she is, after all."

"She's a homicidal maniac who enjoys slaughter. Be on your guard."

"Alright, alright."

The Boss raised a finger, about the say her last announcement. "And finally, there has been a string of murders in the Capital. The targets are civil officials." It just keeps getting better and better... "The deaths include 4 officials and 61 bodyguards. The problem is..." She raised her mechanical arm, revealing a poster with Night Raid's name on it. "... these posters claiming to be from Night Raid have been found at all the crime scenes."

"They're framing us for the crime?", Bulat asked. "It's easy to see they're fakes, right...?"

"But that's obvious, isn't it?", Tatsumi shrugged his shoulders. "I mean, for us to suddenly start claiming responsibility seems a bit far fetched."

"That's what I thought for the first and second cases too, but..." The Boss sighed. "Now it seems that it could have been us. I raised an eyebrow.

"What do you mean? It's not like we're the only ones who kill people, right?"

"Yes, it's true, but after each incident, the officials have increased security. Even so, they are still being killed."

"Oh, I see where this is going..." I scratched the side of my head in annoyance. "Them killing more guarded targets like that means..."

"The criminals are just as powerful as us...", Akame finished for me. "In other words, Teigu users."

I clicked my tongue. "Bummer..."

"Those who were killed were good people who wanted nothing to do with the current Prime Minister.", the Boss continued. "They were people who made the Minister feel ill at ease. In other words, the Prime Minister is getting rid of his enemies and having Night Raid take the blame."

"Could this also be a trap?", Bulat questioned. "To lure out the real Night Raid?"

"I realise this could be a trap...", the Boss said. "but I wanted to inform you anyway... The officials who were killed were all highly skilled people... who opposed the Minister... and would have nothing to do with the rebel army scouts. They cared only for their country. Good people like these officials will be essential in creating our new country. We cannot afford to lose any more of these talented people! I think we should head out and crush this group of fakes!"

"That's an idea I could get behind with.", I smirked, with the others agreeing.

"What are your opinions on this?", Najenda asked us. Tatsumi clenched his fist with a determined look on his face.

"I... don't really understand stuff like politics, but... using Night Raid's name to commit these crimes just make me sick!" After Tatsumi's small speech, Bulat gained a smirk.

"That's right... Exactly, Tatsumi!"

"Let's kick some ass!", I exclaimed. Najenda worn a smirk as well.

"Okay... We've decided, then..." She got up from her chair, draping her coat. "What should we do with the fools who used our name?! Let's go teach them the law of assassins!" After a small pause, she proceeded to explain her strategy. "There are about five officials who we suspect are being targeted. Of those five, only a few have plans to leave the Capital soon. We have narrowed it down to two officials... Akame and Lubbock... and Hitomi and Bulat will provide protection for them!"

"Wh-Why can't I go!?", yell-asked Tatsumi.

"The enemy is probably using Teigus as weapons.", Najenda explained. "It would make more sense to send two Teigu users."

"Oh..."

I raised my hand. "I honestly think it would be better if he came, though.", I said. "I mean, we never know..."

Najenda sighed, knowing I just could not be bargained with. "Alright, I'll permit it."

"Yeah, thanks.", I smiled. "So, where are we supposed to go?"

"The official you're guarding plans to board the ship that is anchored at the start of the Grand Canal. The massive luxury liner... Ryuusen!"

"Ooh! A boat ride!", I chirped. "As long as I don't touch that vile substance that is water...", I muttered that last part.

"What? You afraid of water?", Mine teased with a smirk. I raised a finger.

"Not exactly... I just can't swim...", I confessed.

"Pfff! So lame!", the pinkette laughed as she pointed a finger at me.

"I'm risking my life to protect someone I don't know and you're treating me like this! Why!?", I whined dramatically. "... Let's just go."

* * *

"H...HUUUUGGGGEEEE!", Tatsumi yelled as we stood before the anchored ship.

Okay, this ship was freaking big... It could easily have hundreds of people inside. Plus, the nose looked like a dragon head! Just pointing that up. Me and Tatsumi were standing at the edge, waiting for the moment to board, while Bulat stood invisible with his Teigu. I didn't have Spectator on my forehead for now; I kept it in my pocket. I mean, it would be suspicious to see a random teen with a third eye, right? Tatsumi and I also had roles to play to avoid suspicion, so we brought along fancy clothes. That'll be fun...

"Alright, get on board, you two.", Bulat told us. "The ship is departing soon."

"You got it, Bro!", Tatsumi replied with a thumb up.

* * *

(Normal POV)

"Whoa... so gorgeous...", Tatsumi was marvelled by the ship's beauty. He let out a small gasp as someone gently pushed him on the back.

"You are a young master of some wealthy family-", Bulat's voice was heard. "-who is a bit nervous due to the extravagance of the Capital. Don't forget your cover!", he reminded the teen.

"Y-Yeah, Bro!" Tatsumi leaned against the ramp to see below. "Uwah... There are so many people on the shore..." 'It's possible the Night Raid imposters will attack here, but...' "There are so many people here, and the gramps we have to protect is surrounded by a meat shield..." He sighed. "This way, it would be impossible for him to be assassinated, right? I guess coming here was a miss..." The teen was surprised when an invisible gauntlet bonked him on the head.

"Deciding that on your own is negligent, Tatsumi.", the older man scolded.

"Ah... Bro..."

"My invisibility will give me the upper hand. We have no idea whether the enemy will do something similar, right?"

"That's true... I was wrong, Bro..."

While Tatsumi and Bulat were chatting, Hitomi was inside the ship, searching for potential enemies, as well as stuffing himself with the food provided on a table.

 _'Stay classy...'_ , he repeated in his head. _'Class is the key here... right?'_ He wiped his mouth with a handkerchief as he examined the people present around him. _'Classy man here, classy woman there... Ooh boy...'_

"Excuse me, sir?" He heard a voice to his left. It was a young man with blonde hair. He sported a black uniform with shorts, small devil horn and tail. "Where did you find these treats?", he asked Hitomi, pointing to the food in his hand.

 _'An encounter! Stay classy!'_ "Oh, I'm sorry, they're right behind me.", Hitomi said before moving out of the way. "Sorry, I was hiding them."

"It's okay! Thank you, sir!" Nyau took a treat and waved Hitomi goodbye before moving to a small lodge where Liver was waiting.

 _'Hm, that attire was strange for a classy person...'_ , Hitomi thought, rubbing his chin.

A few minutes later, a strange sound made itself apparent in the air. It sounded like... a flute?

"Wh-What the...", Hitomi suddenly felt weak for some reason, like the music itself drained him of his strength. "I need to go outside... I think the classiness is getting to me..."

* * *

"Oh? Despite Scream, someone's still standing?" Tatsumi heard a voice behind him. The music drained his strength, yet he was still able to stay conscious. The voice he heard belonged to Daidara, who was walking in front of him. "Even under hypnotism, you may remember this.", he said. "So if you're allowed to live and see what we do..."

"So that means...", Tatsumi spoke. "You guys are the imposter Night Raid!"

"Ah! So this here's one of the real ones!", Daidara concluded. "This is good."

"You just had to tell him right away, didn't you!?" Tatsumi and Daidara turned their heads towards the voice and saw Hitomi walking in their direction.

"Another Night Raid member?", Daidara questioned.

"Well, yeah, obviously."

"Uh... what happened to your head?", Tatsumi asked his comrade. Indeed, Hitomi had bumps on his head. The blonde teen chuckled as he took a sword beside an unconscious guard.

"Heh, I learned that smacking my head against the wall can remove the effect from that music.", he said with a proud smile.

"You're crazy..."

Daidara smirked instead at Hitomi's... ingenuity. "Heh, looks like this plan of yours actually worked. This is good, you'll actually put up a fight.", he smirk as he took his axe from his back. "I'll learn a lot of experience from this!"

"Well, I wouldn't want to disappoint, now wouldn't I?", Hitomi smirked as he took Spectator from his pocket. "If you want a good experience...

Then I'll give you a good one, White-eyes!"

* * *

 **Ooh, ominous! Hitomi will fight an actually powerful enemy! What could go wrong?**


	20. Chapter 19

**Hello guys ^^ I have no excuses for this 'hiatus' of sorts, so I'll just hope you forget it after reading this :P Also, big thanks to those you followed, favorited and reviewed! This means a lot to me! Onto the chapter, now!**

* * *

 **Soul in the Dream**

 **CHAPTER 19**

(Normal POV)

"Are you sure you want to do this...?", Tatsumi asked Hitomi, who put his Teigu on his forehead.

"Hey, don't worry, bud.", Hitomi smirked. "I don't feel weak at all, thanks to the wall."

"Heh, you're an interesting one, all right.", Daidara chuckled. "Let's see if you keep that persona while fighting!"

Without warning, the bigger man lunged at Hitomi, bringing his axe down. The teen smiled and sidestepped, easily dodging the attack. Daidara followed by turning on himself while swiping his weapon, horizontally, this time. Again, Hitomi easily dodged by crouching under the deadly blade.

"Please, you can hit faster than that, White-eyes.", Hitomi taunted before jumping back, avoiding another slash.

"Tsk, tricky one, aren't you...", Daidara growled. His opponent shrugged.

"What can I say? People love me like that."

"Haha, perfect, then!", the bigger man cheered with a smile. "I'll earn lots of experience after this fight!"

"We'll see about that, big guy!", Hitomi smirked. He raised his blade, getting ready to attack.

"I wonder...", Daidara started. He lowered his axe, confusing Hitomi. The older man then separated his axe into two smaller axes. "How will you avoid this!?", he yelled as he threw his weapons.

Raising an eyebrow, Hitomi sidestepped to dodge the blades. He was about to brag about it, but...

"Holy hell!", he yelped when he ducked just in time to avoid the axes. Unfortunately, one hit his shoulder. It was just a scratch, but enough to draw blood. "I see, so your Teigu can be thrown like that..." He dodged again by ducking. "... And it'll pursue me... Well fuck..."

As Hitomi continued to dodge the blades, Daidara let out a laugh. "Hahaha! You're exactly right! There's no way you can keep dodging forever!"

"Yeah, that's true but..." In a surprising burst of speed, Hitomi was right in front of Daidara, ready to slash his throat. "These blades are not as fast as Akame!"

With a surprised gasp, Daidara put his hand on his throat to cover it before jumping back. He winced at the pain but soon started to chuckle as he watched his bloodied hand. "Hehehe, you're certainly better than I expected..."

"Wow, I'm impressed, Hitomi!", Bulat's voice was heard. He was standing beside Tatsumi with a smile on his face. "I was about to intercept, but it seems you have this fight under control!"

"I feel accomplished." Hitomi did a thumb up.

"You're doing awfully well...", Daidara pondered, looking at Bulat. "Don't tell me you smacked yourself against the wall like this kid..."

"Wh-What..." Bulat turned to face Hitomi, who smiled sheepishly. "No... I didn't..."

"Oh, I see.", Daidara concluded. He noticed some blood on Bulat's leg. "You cut yourself with a blade instead."

"Hey, the headbutts still work! I was about to wreck you!"

Ignoring his blonde teammate, he introduced himself to his opponent. "I'm Night Raid's Bulat. You can call me Handsome."

"I am Esdeath-sama's servant. Daidara of the Three Beasts.", the axe-wielding man introduced himself.

"Tatsumi, Hitomi, watch how I fight. And memorise it." Bulat took a combat stance.

"Oh, you are SO not taking my kill!", Hitomi glared at Bulat, who put his Incursio armor on.

"Trust me, Hitomi.", the armored man reassured before lunging at Daidara. The axe-wielding warrior grinned as he saw Bulat approaching.

"This guy is worth a lot of experience!", he shouted before rushing at Bulat as well, expecting a good fight.

Suddenly, two other people jumped out from behind crates scattered around, all aiming at Bulat. It was a trap from the beginning.

"Bro...!", Tatsumi tried to warn him, but it was soon proven useless. Bulat, in a powerful movement, jumped high into the air, confusing his opponents.

"Eh?", Nyau let out before getting hit in the chest by a strong punch by Bulat, sending him flying away. But the Night Raid assassin wasn't finished. He quickly spun his body to be behind Liver and delivered a solid kick to his back, sending the older man crashing on the ship's wall. Bulat's next target was Daidara. He intended to bring his weapon down to split the Beast in two, but to his surprise, Daidara managed to dodge by jumping back.

(Hitomi's POV)

"Holy hell!", I exclaimed. "That was seriously awesome..."

"I knew you were strong...", Tatsumi spoke, impressed by Bulat's capabilities. "... but I didn't know you were this amazing, Bro!"

"Right?", the armored man laughed. "My nickname back when I was in the army was '100 man slayer Bulat'."

"But strictly speaking...", we heard a voice say. It was the oldest of the three. "You had actually killed 128 people.", he precised. "At the time, you were doing very well against the special forces." The old man seemed to analyse our comrade's armor. "That Teigu... that strength... So it is you, Bulat...!"

Tatsumi and Bulat seemed highly surprised that the man knew Bulat... Was I missing something here? Bulat's hand tightened around his spear.

"General... Liver..."

"I'm no longer a General...", the man replied. "After Esdeath-sama saved me, I became her servant."

"Classic backstory...", I muttered with a deadpan face. Liver glanced at me but brushed it off.

"If you were my ally...", Bulat started as his weapon twirled around his fingers. "we could have a drink to celebrate this reunion... But for appearing as an enemy... I must kill you! The mission must come first!" He took a fighting stance as he prepared himself to battle Liver.

"You took the words right out of my mouth. I absolutely must complete my mission." The old man removed the glove he had on his right hand, revealing a ring shaped like a dragon head. "And I will, using this Teigu I received from my master."

As he showed the ring, pillars of water rose from surrounding barrels, pretty much giving away its ability.

"Water control...", I mumbled. "In a place surrounded by water like this, we're actually at a disadvantage..."

"Yes!", Liver shouted. "And this will be your downfall! Water Cannons!" As the older man said the name of his attack, the water raising from the pillars changed directions and headed straight for Bulat.

"Don't get ahead of yourself!" As the armored assassin said those words, he brought his spear in front of him and twirled it between his hands, deflecting the water that came his way.

I noticed some movement coming from beside me and saw Daidara was running towards Bulat, hoping to disrupt him. "Oh, hell no!", I shouted as I rushed in the Beast's direction. He noticed me and blocked my strike with his axe.

"Oh, I forgot about you...", he growled. "No matter. I'll just have to cut you down before continuing!"

I raised my blade in a defensive manner. "Yeah, good luck with that, big boy. You won't be getting rid of me that easily."

"Tch, we'll see about that!" Daidara raised his weapon and attempted to crush me with its weight and power. However, I easily dodged it by rolling to the side. From my crouched position, I then rushed towards him and swung my sword. From reading his mind, I saw that I was faster than he anticipated. He still managed to get away without much damage, my weapon only having scratched his shoulder. Daidara then separated his Teigu in two, throwing each parts at me. As I dodged the blades, I read his mind once more with Spectator. _'Belvaac'll be the distraction while I rush him with my hands.'_ I chuckled a bit.

"I so love Spectator..." Surprising Daidara, I ran towards him while he was unarmed. What he didn't know was that I could 'see' his Teigu's location from looking at his face. He was bound to have small thoughts regarding his weapon's location, so I would be able to dodge without real problems. He reached out his fist to punch me, but I rolled to the left, ending up behind him. I closed the distance between us, attempting to slash him, but the man actually managed to surprise me...

"Heh, nice try, assassin!", he growled. I didn't have time to react as he hit me full-force with the back of his fist right on my stomach.

"Gahh..!", I let out as I hit the wooden deck. His strike wasn't enough to draw blood or anything, but it still hurt...

The bigger man was approaching me with a victorious smile. "I think I get your little strategy here.", he said. "You can see my moves with that eye from looking at my face, correct?" He was pointing at my Teigu as he said those words. The point he was trying to make clicked in my head...

"I wasn't looking at your face when you struck me...", I said, shaking off the pain. _'I did have Insight activated when I attacked his back... Next time, I should switch to Future Sight...'_

"That's right.", he nodded. "You have been a tough foe, worth a lot of experience, but I'm afraid it's time to kill you now!" He took Belvaac's pieces and raised them to finish me off, but droplets of water interrupted him. "Huh?" We both looked to the side and saw Liver on a huge water serpent, glaring down at Bulat.

"H-Holy hell...", I muttered. I couldn't hear what they were saying, but I could clearly see what happened... Liver brought his hand down, causing the serpent to rush head-first towards Bulat. 'Wait...', I thought. 'That think'll probably destroy the ship if it connects!'. I wasn't exactly sure what to think, but these thoughts were quickly washed away as Bulat jumped in the air, slicing the serpent in two with his spear. I was about to sigh in relief but I gasped in surprise instead as multiple water serpents emerged from the water, continually hitting Bulat. I think I even saw some pieces of Incursio fall off...

My senses suddenly yelled at me to get away. Following them, I barely dodged a strike from Belvaac, which shattered the wood I was on a few seconds ago. "Oh, right... you.", I muttered as I shook my head. "Alright big boy, sorry about that distraction just now. I was, well, distracted."

He replied to me by swinging his Teigu, hoping to cut my head off. Of course, using Spectator, I dodged easily by ducking. "Grr... You're starting to annoy me, boy...", Daidara growled. "Stop moving!"

"Yeah, nah.", I shrugged. "I mean, I'll die in one hit if you hit me with that." The bigger man separated his Teigu in two parts once more.

"That's the idea!", he shouted as he threw the pieces. However, instead of coming right at me, Belvaac's pieces flew to the sides, probably hoping for a kind of pincer attack with their return trip... "You're mine, now!" This time, he didn't wait for me to make a move. He started running towards me, fists raised. Slightly panicking, I stepped back to avoid him.

He gave me a smirk. "Heh, gotcha." That's when I realised: I couldn't dodge his attack... Daidara was in front of me and two different blind spots were targeted by his Teigu... Even with Spectator's mind reading, there was no way I could dodge everything!

"Shit...", I muttered. _'Wait, there's still a way to survive! How about this...?'_ Concentrating on my Teigu, I switched from Insight to Future Sight, helping me analyse movements. Taking a chance, I turned around quickly to see the projectiles' positions and speed. I tilted my body, hoping to at least minimise the damage I would take from the axes. I hissed in pain as I felt the blades cut their way through my arms, leaving somewhat deep cuts.

"Oh, you actually survived. I'm impressed.", Daidara praised as he caught the pieces to make the axe whole again.

"I really hope this doesn't scar...", I whined as I looked at my arms. "One's enough..."

"Your scars don't matter when you're dead, boy!", the big man shouted again before rushing me. Using Future Sight, I dodged his strikes and jumped back. I needed a new strategy.

 _'Oh, yeah... I can do that...'_ I contemplated my choices and decided on one.

(Normal POV)

"H-Hey, where are you going!?", Daidara yelled as Hitomi ran and hid inside the ship. Growling, he followed the assassin inside. He searched around for his opponent, but couldn't find him. 'This is frustrating...', he thought. 'Where the hell did he hide!?' A small noise to his right made him alert. "There you are!" He raised his axe and was about to attack the person, but who he saw clearly wasn't his enemy. "E-Esdeath-sama!?"

"You are disappointing me, Daidara."

* * *

 **There you go, everyone! This is honestly the first I've written a completely 'original' fight so I want feedback on this. Was it good? Too much slow-paced? Not enough action? Please tell me! Oh, and also, I guess it's pretty easy for you guys to guess what exactly happened at the end ^^'**


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